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C0EXRIGHT DEIPOSm 



READINGS IN 
AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



SELECTED AND EDITED BY 

THAMES ROSS WILLIAMSON 

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS AND SOCIOLOGY 

IN SMITH college; AUTHOR OF 

"problems IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY" 



Let US test our opinions hy the knowledge of 
the most diverse minds, and cling only to what 
survives the encounter. 



D. C. HEATH & CO., PUBLISHERS 

BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO 






Copyright, 1922, 
By D. C. Heath & Co. 

2 E2 



PRINTED IN U.S.A. 



JUN -/I922 
©C1.A6 74 505 



I 



TO 

THOMAS NIXON CARVER 

PATIENT TEACHER 

SHREWD CRITIC 

WISE FRIEND 



PREFACE 

This volume is designed to accompany the editor's Problems in 
American Democracy, and the choice and arrangement of the material 
have been influenced by the plan of that text. 

In the preparation of this volume the effort has been to secure 
the advantages of a book of readings, and at the same time to avoid 
some of the drawbacks common to such compilations. In this 
connection the special features of the book may be referred to 
briefly: 

The editor has attempted to strike a judicious compromise between 
too long and too short selections. It is intended that each selec- 
tion shall prove sufficiently extended to convey a fair and adequate 
idea of the author's point of view; on the other hand, the pressure 
for space in the volume, and the desirability of suppressing material 
not bearing directly upon the point involved, have led to careful 
elimination, and, in some cases, to bracketed insertions. It need 
not be added that, in such cases, care has been taken not to distort 
the sense of the original. 

Despite the wide range of many of the chapters, the editor has 
attempted to choose and to arrange the selections so that each 
chapter will constitute a logical and unified narrative It is hoped, 
further, that the volume has gained something of the continuity 
of a text from the fact that an editorial paragraph has been used, 
not only to introduce each selection, but to connect and to weave 
together the two selections between which it stands. 

To avoid the unsightliness of type of varying sizes, the same size 
of type has been used for both editorial introductions and the selec- 
tions. Care has been taken, however, to indicate precisely where 
each editorial introduction stops and the selected reading begins. 

To help the student to understand the selections, and to facilitate 
reference, marginal notes have been employed throughout the 
book. 

A number of questions on the readings is supplied at the end of 
each chapter. The volume is provided with an index. 

V 



vi PREFACE 

These features have been adopted -nith a double aim in \-iew. In 
the first place, it is beheved that they will render the volume more 
useful and attractive to students employing it in connection with 
the Prohletns. In the second place, it is hoped that these features 
will encourage the use of the volume independently of the editor's 
text. The editor beheves that these selections maj- profitably be 
used not only by classes studjong the problems of American de- 
mocracy as such, but by classes in civics, government, economics, 
and sociology'. Further, it is hoped that the book maj^ find some 
favor with the general reader who seeks representative material 
upon a field of increasing importance, nameh^, the great national 
problems confronting the American people. 

The procedure usual in preparing volumes of this kind has been 
followed. Points indicate omissions, and brackets the insertion of 
editorial material. Unless otherwise stated in the footnotes, each 
selection is intended to be an exact reproduction of the original. 
WTierever feasible, however, capitalization, speUing, and punctua- 
tion have been modernized, and where a shght grammatical error 
threatened to confuse or divert the attention of the student, there 
has been no hesitancy in correcting the defect. No attempt has 
been made, on the other hand, to tamper with the style of the 
selections. 

WTiile assuming responsibihtj* for the defects of the book, the 
editor asks the indiilgence of the reader on two grounds: First, 
because the great scope of the subject has rendered extremely diffi- 
cult the selection of material which will adequately represent the 
historical, econornic. social, and poUtical phases of our national 
problems; and second, because in attempting this task the editor 
is breaking new groiind, venturing into a field until now avoided 
by educators. 

The thanks of the editor are due to the authors from whose writings 
the selections have been taken, and to the pubhshers who have 
kindly permitted the use of cop}'righted material. 

THLl^IES ROSS WILLL\:MS0N 
February- 19, 1922 

CAMBRIDGE. MASSACHUSETTS 



ackno\\xedg:mexts 

Thanks are due to the following publishers and periodicals for permission 
to reprint extracts from copyrighted material: To Longmans, Green & Co. 
for Xos. 31, 58, 200, and 225; to the Macrmllan Company for Xos. 37, 54, 
59, 60, 154, 195, 199, 228, 229, and 230; to the Quarterly Journal of 
Economics for Xos. 40, 42, and 184; to the Johns Hopkins Press for 
Xo. 44; to Ginn & Company for Xos. 50 and 57; to Silver. Burdett & Co. 
for Xo. 51; to Henry Holt & Co. for X'os. 52 and 56; to Princeton Uni- 
versity Press for Xos. 66, 185, and 186; to the Xational Industrial Con- 
ference Board for Xos. 68 and 105; to the American Journal of Sociology 
for Xos. 69 and 139; to the Cooperative League of America for Xos. 70 
and 71; to Charles H. Kerr & Co. for Xo. 74; to Thomas Y. Crowell Co. 
for Xos. 91, 95, and 96; to Charles Scribner's Sons for Xos. 92, 226. and 
227; to the .\merican Statistical Association for Xo. 93; to the Annals 
of the American Academy of Political and Social Science for Xos. 102, 118, 
and 120; to the Chamber of Commerce of the L'nited States of .\merica 
for Xo. 107; to the Carnegie Foundation for X'o. 122; to the Arbor Press 
for Xo. 129; to Columbia University Press for Xos. 133 and 193; to the 
Pilgrim Press for Xo. 138; to the American Economic Review for Xo. 147; 
to B. W. Huebsch, Inc. for Xo. 144; to the X'ational Civic Federation for 
Xo. 145; to the Xational Tax Association for Xos. 151, 187, and 188; 
to the Xational Citizens" League for Xo. 1S2; to the American Law Re- 
view for Xo. 196; to the Academy of Pohtical Science in the City of 
Xew York for Xos. 197, 198, and 216; to G. P. Putnam's Sons for Xo. 205; 
to the Xational Municipal Review for Xos. 206, 217, 219, 223. and 224; 
to the American PoUtical Science Association for Xo. 211; and to the fol- 
lovsnng authors: to Dr. Frederick Starr for Xo. 39; and to Dr. T. X. Carver 
for Xo. 97. 



CONTENTS 

PART I 

FOUNDATIONS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 

CHAPTER I — THE BACKGROUND OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 

PAGE 

1. Christopher Columbus discovers America i 

From Christopher Cokmabus, Journal. 

2. Captain John Smith on conditions at Jamestown 3 

From Captain John Smith, Works. 

3. The Pilgrims resolve to leave Holland 5 

From William Bradford, History of Plymoulh Plantation. 

4. The Mayflower reaches New England . 7 

From William Bradford, History of Plymouth Plantation. 

5. The struggles of the early colonists 9 

From Timothy Dwight, Travels in N ew England and Neio York. 

6. Growth of the English colonies 11 

From Benjamin Franklin, Works. 

CHAPTER II — THE ORIGIN OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 

7. King John is forced to sign the Magna Charta 15 

From the Magna Charta. 

8. The Pilgrims agree to establish a pure democracy 16 

From the Mayfloivcr Compact. 

g. Representative government in America 18 

From the Ordinance for Virginia. 

10. A republic established in the Connecticut wilderness 20 

From the Fundamoital Orders of Connecticut. 

11. Virginia asserts the principles of just government 22 

From the Virginia Bill of Rights. 

12. The colonists declare their independence 24 

From the Declaration of Independence. 

CHAPTER III — THE DEVELOPMENT OF 
AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 

13. Four colonics combine for mutual defense 30 

From the New England Confederation. 



X CONTENTS 

PAGE 

14. The union of all of the colonies is proposed 32 

From the Albany Plan of Union. 

15. The states enter a league of friendship 34 

From the Articles of Confederation. 

16. Washington outlines the needs of the country 38 

From George Washington, Circular Letter addressed to the 
Governors. 

17. Hamilton summarizes the defects of the Confederation 39 

From Alexander Hamilton, Works. 

18. Franklin calls for the ratification of the Constitution 42 

From Jonathan Elliot, Debates on the Adoption of the Federal 
Constitution. 



CHAPTER IV — ESSENTIALS OF AMERICAN 
CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT 

19. Individual rights under the Federal Constitution 45 

From the Coiistitution of the United States. 

20. States' rights under the Federal Constitution 47 

From the Constitution of the United States. 

21. The powers of the Federal government 48 

From the Constitution of the United States. 

22. The extent of Federal powers 51 

From U. S. Supreme Court decision in the case of M'Cul- 
loch vs. the State of Maryland. 

23. The check and balance system 53 

From the Federalist. 

24. Significance of the judiciary in American government 55 

From U. S. Supreme Court decision in the case of Marbury 
vs. Madison. 



CHAPTER V — THE PROBLEMS OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 

25. Washington's charge to the nation 60 

From George Washington, Fare^'ell Address. 

26. Jackson on the aims of government 62 

From Andrew Jackson, Second Inaugural Address. 

27. Lincoln on the spirit of lawlessness - 63 

From the Sangamon (111.), Journal. 

28. Roosevelt on the problems of American life 65 

From Theodore Roosevelt, Second Inaugural Address. 

29. Wilson on the dangers of the World War period 68 

From Woodrow Wilson, Second Inaugural Address. 

30. Harding on the issues of the Twentieth Century 70 

From Warren G. Harding, Address to Ohio Society ofNeiv York. 



CONTENTS xi 

PART II 

AMERICAN ECONOMIC PROBLEMS 

a. Economics of American Industry 

CHAPTER VI — THE NATURE OF AMERICAN INDUSTRY 

PAGE 

31. Natural resources of the nation 75 

From Ernest L. Bogart, The Economic History of the United 
States. 

32. Growth of population in the United States 77 

From the U. S. Bureau of the Census, Statistical Atlas of 
the U.S. 

33. Occupations of the American People 79 

P'rom the Thirteenth Census of the U . S. 

34. Governmental encouragement of business 83 

From various bulletins issued by the U. S. Government. 

35. Keeping track of industrial tendencies 85 

From the National City Bank of New York, Monthly Business 
Letter. 

36. The wealth of the nation 87 

From the U. S. Bureau of Census, Estimated Valuation of 
National Wealth. 

CHAPTER VII — WHAT IS MEANT BY PRODUCTION 

37. Man's part in production 91 

From Eugen von Boehm-Bawerk, The Positive Theory of 
Capital. 

38. The principle of the division of labor 93 

From Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes 
of the Wealth of Nations. 

39. The productive methods of savages 95 

From Frederick Starr, Some First Steps in Human Progress. 

40. Division of labor in colonial manufactures 98 

From Blanche E. Hazard, The Organization of the Boot and 
Shoe Industry in Massachusetts before iS/S. 

41. Slater introduces power machinery into America 100 

From One Hundred Years^ P-rogress of the U. S. 

42. An example of the complex division of labor 102 

From John R. Commons, Labor Conditions in Meat Packing 
and the Recent Strike. 

CHAPTER VIII — EXCHANGING THE PRODUCTS OF INDUSTRY 

43. Relation of division of labor to the market 105 

From Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes 
of the Wealth of Nations. 



XU CONTENTS 

\ <5i.i,| \ 

PAGE 

44. Beginnings in American railway development 107 

From Milton Reizenstein, The Economic History of the Balti- 
more &° Ohio Railroad. 

45. The nature and function of money 109 

From Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of 
the Wealth of Nations. 

46. Price as a measure of value iii 

From Charles Gide, Principles of Political Economy. 

47. A provision market in a great city 113 

From the Department of Interior, Bureau of Education, 
Lessons in Community and National Life. 

48. The advantages of exchange 115 

From Charles Gide, Principles of Political Economy. 



GHAPTER IX — DISTRIBUTING THE INCOME OF INDUSTRY 

49. Distribution previous to the Industrial Revolution 119 

From the Department of Interior, Bureau of Education, 
Lessons in Community and National Life. 

50. Distribution since the Industrial Revolution 121 

From Thomas Nixon Carver, Principles of Political Economy. 

51. Some factors influencing rent 123 

From Charles J. Bullock, Introduction to the Study of 
Economics. 

52. Some factors influencing interest 124 

From Henry Rogers Seager, Principles of Economics. 

53. Some factors influencing wages 126 

From Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of 
the Wealth of Nations. 

54. Some factors influencing ■ profits 128 

From Frank W. Taussig, Principles of Economics. 



CHAPTER X — BASES OF THE CAPITALISTIC SYSTEM 

55. The evolution of private property 132 

From Charles Gide, Principles of Political Economy. 

56. Types of business contracts 134 

From Coleman Hall Bush, Applied Business Law. 

57. The forms of Competition 136 

From Thomas Nixon Carver, Principles of Political Economy. 

58. Kinds of economic freedom 138 

From Edwin R. A. Seligman, Principles of Economics. 

59. Production in anticipation of demand 141 

• From Henry Clay, Economics for the General Reader. 

60. The inequality of wealth I43 

From Frank W. Taussig, Principles of Economics. 



CONTENTS xiii 

PAGE 

b. Programs of Industrial Reform 

CHAPTER XI — SINGLE TAX 

6i. The persistence of poverty in modern life 147 

From Henry George, Progress and Poverty. 

62. The remedy proposed by Henry George 148 

From Henry George, Progress and Poverty. 

63. Results claimed for the single tax 150 

From Henry George, Progress and Poverty. 

64. The case for the single tax 152 

From Debaters' Handbook Scries, Selected Articles on 
Single Tax. 

65. The case against the single tax 155 

From Debaters' Handbook Series, Selected Articles on 
Single Tax. 

66. Services rendered by the single tax agitation 158 

From Arthur Nichols Young, The Single Tax Movement in 
the United States. 

CHAPTER XII — PROFIT SHARING AND COOPERATION 

67. Profit-sharing establishments in the United States 161 

From the U. S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor 
Statistics, Profit Sharing in the U. S. 

68. Examples of successful profit sharing 163 

From the National Industrial Conference Board, Research 
Report No. 2g. 

69. Examples of unsuccessful profit sharing 165 

From Paul Monroe, "Profit Sharing in the U. S.," American 
Journal of Sociology. 

70. Examples of successful cooperation 167 

From James Peter Warbasse, The Cooperative Consumers' 
Movement in the United States. 

71. Examples of unsuccessful cooperation 169 

From James Peter Warbasse, Producers' Cooperative In- 
dustries. 

72. The social benefits of cooperation 171 

From C. R. Fay, Cooperation at Home and Abroad. 

CIL\PTER XIII — THE GENERAL NATURE OF SOCIALISM 

73. Socialist theory of value 174 

From Karl Marx, Capital. 

74. The laborer creates all value 17S 

From Karl Marx, Value, Price and Profit. 

75. The capitalist exploits the laborer 177 

From Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, The Communist 
Manifesto. 



XIV CONTENTS 

PAGE 

76. The doctrine of class struggle 179 

From Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, The Communist 
Manifesto. 

77. Immediate aims of American socialism 181 

From the Socialist Party of America, Preamble to the 
National Constitution. 

78. Ultimate aims of American socialism 182 

From the United Communist Party, Statement of Principles. 



CHAPTER XIV— MILITANT SOCIALISM: THE I. W. W. 

79. Why the I. W. W. organization was formed 185 

From the Manifesto Calling a Convention to Organize the 
Industrial Workers of the World. 

80. The I. W. W. declare war upon capitalism 187 

From the Industrial Workers of the World, Preamble to 
the Constitution. 

81. The purpose of "mass action." 188 

From the N. Y. Joint Legislative Committee Investigating 
Seditious Activities, Report. 

82. The nature and purpose of sabotage 190 

From the N. Y. Joint Legislative Committee Investigating 
Seditious Activities, Report. 

83. Excerpts from the I. W. W. press 191 

From the New Solidarity, and The One Big Union Monthly. 

84. The call for a socialist revolution 193 

From the American Anarchist Federated Commune Soviets, 
Anarchist Soviet Bulletin. 



CHAPTER XV — MILITANT SOCIALISM: THE BOLSHEVISTS 

85. Socialism is established in Russia 197 

From the Russian Socialist Federated Soviet Republic, 
Constitution. 

86. The suffrage under bolshevism 198 

From the Russian Socialist Federated Soyeit Republic, 
Constitution. 

87. Lenin defends the dictatorship of the proletariat 200 

From Nickolai Lenin, as reported in the Petrograd Pravda. 

88. Aims of bolshfevist propagandists abroad 202 

From the Russian Socialist Federated Soviet Republic, 
"General Instructions to Foreign Agents." 

89. The suicide letter of a bolshevist 203 

From J. Landfield, "A Commissar Disillusioned," The 
Review. 

90. The bolshevists return to the capitalistic system ; . . . 205 

From the New York Times. 



CONTENTS XV 

PAGE 

CHAPTER XVI — THE CASE AGAINST SOCIALISM 

91. The labor theory of value is untrue 208 

From James Edward Le Rossignol, Orthodox Socialism. 

92. The laborer does not produce all wealth , . . . 210 

From Boris L. Brasol, Socialism vs. Civilization. 

93. The masses are not reduced to wage slavery 212 

From the American Statistical Association, Quarterly. 

94. Defects of socialist production 215 

From A. Schaeffle, The Impossibility of Social Democracy. 

95. The defects of socialist distribution 217 

From Richard T. Ely, Socialism attd Social Reform. 

96. Socialism not necessary to industrial reform 219 

From Richard T. Ely, Socialism and Social Reform. 

CHAPTER XVII — A DEMOCRATIC PROGRAM OF 
INDUSTRIAL REFORM 

97. The program outlined 223 

From Thomas Nixon Carver, Essays in Social Justice. 

98. Taxation as a method of attacking unearned wealth 225 

From Edwin R. A. Seligman, Address before the Inter- 
national Tax Association. 

99. The promise of vocational guidance 226 

From the National Vocational Guidance Association, 
Principles adopted in Convention. 

100. Connecting the man and the job 228 

From John B. Andrews, Labor Exchanges. 

loi. The purpose of labor legislation 231 

From Frank Tracy Carlton, The History and Problems of 
Organized Labor. 

102. The practice of thrift 233 

From the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 
Annals. 

PART III 
AMERICAN SOCIAL PROBLEMS 
CHAPTER XVIII — INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS 

103. The extent of strikes and lock-outs 237 

From the U. S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor 
Statistics, Monthly Labor Review. 

104. Failure of voluntary arbitration: an example 239 

From the New York Times. 

105. Legal responsibility in industrial relations 242 

From Forrest R. Black, Should Trade Unions and Employers' 
Associations be made Legally Responsible? 



xvi CONTENTS 

PAGE 

io6. The Kansas Court of Industrial Relations 244 

From the U. S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor 
Statistics, Monthly Labor Review. 

107. Proposed principles of industrial relations 246 

From the Chamber of Commerce of the U. S., A Labor 
Program by Business. 

108. The promise of employee representation- 249 

From the Industrial Conference called by the President, 
Report. 



CHAPTER XIX — HEALTH IN INDUSTRY 

109. The conservation of human life 253 

From the Committee of One Hundred on National Health, 
Report on National Vitality, its Wastes and Conservation. 

no. Minimum standards for child laborers 255 

From the Washington and Regional Conferences on Child 
Welfare. 

111. Standards governing the emplojonent of women 257 

From the U. S. Department of Labor, Standards for the Em- 
ployment of Women in Industry. 

112. Results of minimum wage legislation 259 

From the U. S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor 
Statistics, Monthly Labor Review. 

113. A typical workmen's compensation law 262 

From the Statutes of the State of New York, Workmen's 
Compensation Law. 

114. The constitutionality of labor legislation 264 

From Frank Tracy Carlton, The History and Problems of 
Organized Labor. 



CHAPTER XX — IMMIGRATION AND ASSIMILATION 

115. The nature of the immigrant labor supply 268 

From the U. S. Immigration Commission, Abstracts of 
Reports, with Conclusions, etc. 

116. Living conditions in immigrant communities 270 

From the U. S. Immigration Commission, Abstracts of 
Reports ; with Conclusions, etc. 

117. The literacy test 272 

From the Statutes of the U. S., Immigration Law of IQ17. 

118. Why California objects to the Japanese ■ 273 

From the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 
A nnals. 

19. Americanizing the immigrant 275 

From the U. S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Edu- 
cation, Bulletin. 



CONTENTS xvii 

PAGE 

120. A proposed immigration policy 277 

From the National Committee for Constructive Immigration 
legislation, Program. 



CHAPTER XXI — CRIME AND CORRECTION 

121. Taft on the defects of criminal procedure 281 

From William Howard Taft, Address delivered before the 
Civic Forum, New York City. 

122. Results of the public defender movement 283 

From the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of 
Teaching, Bidletin. 

123. Tendencies in the juvenile court movement 285 

From the U. S. Department of Labor, Children's Bureau, 
Courts in the United States Hearing Children's Cases. 

124. Substitutes for imprisonment 287 

From Charles Richmond Henderson, Introduction to the Study 
of the Dependent, Defective, and Delinquent Classes. 

125. The functions of the psychopathic expert 289 

I'rom the Chicago House of Correction, Research Depart- 
ment, Bulletin. 

126. Principles of reformation 291 

From the National Prison Congress, Declaration of Principles 
Promulgated at Cincinnati. 



CHAPTER XXII — THE NEGRO 

127. Occupations of the American Negro 295 

From the U. S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of 
Education, Bulletin. 

128. Educational needs of the Negro 297 

From the U. S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of 
Education, Bulletin. 

129. Statutory protection of the Negro 299 

From Franklin Johnson, The Development of State Legisla- 
tion Concerning the Free Negro,. 

130. A new negro problem: migration Zoi 

From the U. S. Bureau of Labor, Division of Negro 
Economics, Negro Migration in igi6-igi7. 

131. Inter-racial cooperation 2,°?, 

From Oswald Garrison Villard, "The Objects of the National 
Association for the Advancement of Colored People." 

132. A charge to Negro boys and girls 305 

From Robert R. Moton, Address delivered at the Com- 
mencement Exercises at Tuskegee Institute. 



xviu CONTENTS 

PAGE 

CHAPTER XXIII — THE FAMILY 

133. Economic disruption of the family 309 

From James P. Lichtenberger, Divorce, A Study in Social 
Causation. 

134. The struggle for home life in the city 311 

From the Housing Commission of the City of Des Moines, 
Report. 

135. Pensions for poor mothers 313 

From the U. S. Department of Labor, Children's Bureau, 
Laws relating to Mothers' Pensions in the United States, 
Denmark and New Zealand. 

136. A proposed uniform divorce law 315 

From the U. S. Bureau of Census, Special Report on Marriage 
and Divorce. 

137. Education for home-making 318 

From the U. S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of 
Education, Bulletin. 

138. The attitude of young people toward marriage 320 

From Raymond Calkins, The Christian Idea in the Modern 
World. 



CHAPTER XXIV— DEPENDENCY: ITS RELIEF 
AND PREVENTION 

139. Instability of the urban neighborhood 323 

From the American Journal of Sociology. 

140. The diagnosis of dependency 325 

From the Detroit Associated Charities, Trouble Cases. 

141. The friendly visitor 327 

From the Associated Charities of Boston, Twenty-first Annual 
Report. 

142. An ideal almshouse 329 

From the National Conference of Social Work, Proceedings. 

143. State control of institutions for dependents 331 

From Charles Richmond Henderson, Introduction to the 
Study of the Dependent, Defective, and Delinquent Classes. 

144. The movement for financial federation 333 

From the American Association for Organizing Charity, 
Financial Federations. 



CHAPTER XXV— RURAL LIFE 

145. Why young people leave the farm 337 

From Ernest R. Groves, Using the Resources of the Country 
Church. 



CONTENTS xix 

PAGE 

146. Buying farms with land-bank loans 33g 

From the U. S. Department of Agriculture, Bulletin. 

147. The marketing of the farmer's produce 341 

From the American Economic Review. 

148. The viewpoint of the farm woman 343 

From the U. S. Department of Agriculture, Department 
Circular. 

149. The consolidated rural school 345 

From the U. S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of 
Education, Bulletin. 

150. The development of community spirit in the country 347 

From the Wisconsin Country Life Conference, Third Annual 
Report. 

CHAPTER XXVI — EDUCATION 

151. Standardization of schools within the state 351 

From the U. S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of 
Education, Bulletin. 

152. Financing the school system 353 

From the U. S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of 
Education, Bulletin. 

153. Compulsory school attendance 354 

From the U. S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Edu- 
cation, Bulletin. 

154'. Problems in vocational education 357 

From the U. S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Educa- 
tion, Bulletin. 

155. Wider use of the school plant 359 

From the U. S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Educa- 
tion, Bulletin. 

156. The money value of education 361 

From the U. S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Educa- 
tion, Bulletin. 

PART IV 

AMERICAN POLITICAL PROBLEMS 

a. Some Economic Functions of Government 

CHAPTER XXVII — PUBLIC INTEREST IN 
BUSINESS: REGULATION 

157. An example of industrial combination 364 

From U. S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Educa- 
tion, Lessons in Community and National Life. 

158. A typical trust agreement 366 

From the U. S. Industrial Commission, Preliminary Report 
on Trusts and Industrial Combinations. 



XX CONTENTS • 

PAGE 

159. Abuse of power by Lhe trust 368 

From the United States vs. Patterson et al. 

160. The Sherman Anti-trust Act of 1890 370 

From the Statutes of the United States, Federal Anti-trust 
law. 

161. A great trust ordered dissolved 372 

From the Supreme Court of the United States, Decision in 
the case of the United States vs. the American Tobacco 
Company and others. 

162. Significance of the Federal Trade Commission 374 

From the Statutes of the United States, Federal Trade 
Commission Law. 

CHAPTER XXVIII — PUBLIC INTEREST IN 
BUSINESS: OWNERSHIP 

163. Social importance of public utilities 378 

From the Report of the Committee on Interstate Commerce. 

164. Extent of municipal ownership 380 

From Carl D. Thompson, Municipal Ownership. 

165. The future of municipal ownership 381 

From the Report to the National Civic Federation on Municipal 
and Private Operation of Public Utilities. 

166. The evils of railroad development 383 

From the Report of the Committee on Interstate Commerce. 

167. Government administration of the railroads, 191 7-1920 385 

From the U. S. Railroad Administration, Report of the 
Director-General to the President. 

168. The Transportation Act of 1920 387 

From the Statutes of the United States, Transportation Act 
of ig20. 

CHAPTER XXIX — THE TARIFF 

169. The basis of international trade 391 

From Alvin S. Johnson, Introduction to Economics. 

170. The nature of the tariff 393 

From Alvin S. Johnson, Introduction to Economics. 

171. The United States Tariff Commission 395 

From the National Tax Association, Proceedings of the 
Thirteenth Annual Conference on Taxation. 

172. Tariff principles of the Democratic party 397 

From the Democratic National Committee, Democratic 
Campaign Text-book. 

173. Tariff principles of the Republican party 400 

From the Republican National Committee, Republican 
Campaign Text-book. 

174. Relation of the tariff to national prosperity 402 

From Frank William Taussig, Principles of Economics. 



CONTENTS xxi 

PAGE 

CHAPTER XXX— CONSERVATION 

175. Why conservation of natural resources is necessary 405 

From the Conference of Governors, Proceedings. 

176. Declaration of the Conference of Governors 407 

From the Conference of Governors, Proceedings. 

177. A National Conservation Association formed 409 

From the National Conservation Association, National 
Conservation Association, What It Is. 

178. The principles of conservation 410 

From the National Conservation Association, Statement of 
Principles. 

179. The legal basis of conservation 412 

From questions submitted by the Senate of the State of 
Maine to the justices of the Supreme Judicial Court of 
Maine, with answers of the justices. 

180. Needed conservation legislation 414 

From the U. S. Department of Agriculture, Timber Depletion 
and the A nswer. 

CHAPTER XXXI — CREDIT AND BANKING 

181. The function of a commercial bank 418 

Frpm the U. S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of 
Education, Lessons in Community and National Life. 

182. Our banking system before 1913 419 

From the National Citizens' League for the Promotion of a 
Soimd Banking System, Banking Reform. 

183. The panic of 1907 421 

From the National Monetary Commission, History of 
Crises under the National Banking System. 

184. The Federal Reserve System 423 

From the Quarterly Journal of Economics. 

185. Centralization under the Federal Reserve System 425 

From Edwin Walter Kemmerer, The A B C of the Federal 
Reserve System. 

186. Elasticity under the Federal Reserve System 427 

From Edwin Walter Kemmerer, The A B C of the Federal 
Reserve System. 

CHAPTER XXXII — TAXATION 

187. Defects of American taxation 431 

From State and Local Taxation, First National Conference, 
Addresses and Proceedings. 

188. Breakdown of the general property tax 433 

From State and Local Taxation, Fourth International Con- 
ference, Addresses and Proceedings. 



XXU CONTENTS 

PAGE 

189. The taxation of corporations 475 

From Indiana University, Extension Division, Proceedings 
of a Conference on Taxation in Indiana. 

190. Social significance of taxation 436 

From Theodore Roosevelt, Annual Message to Congress. 

191. Need of thorough study of the tax problem 438 

From Indiana University, Extension Division, Proceedings 
of a Conference on Taxation in Indiana. 

192. Some principles of taxation 440 

From Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes 
of the Wealth^ of Nations. 



b. Making 'Government Effective 

CHAPTER XXXIII— WHO SHALL SHARE IN 
GOVERNMENT ? 

193. The suffrage in colonial times " 443 

From Cortlandt F. Bishop, History of Elections in the 
American Colonies. 

194. The demand for universal suffrage 445 

From an Address to the People of Rhode Island, assembled 
in Constitutional Convention in 1834. 

195. Woman suffrage summed up 447 

From William Bennett Munro, The Government of the 
United States. 

196. How the Negro is kept from voting 448 

From the American Political Science Association, Pro- 
ceedings of the Second Annual Meeting. 

197. Civic capacity cannot be created by proclamation 450 

From the American Law Review. 

198. How many potential voters really vote ? 453 

From the Political Science Quarterly. 



CHAPTER XXXIV — THE POLITICAL PARTY 

199. Extent of party organization 457 

From James Bryce, The American Commonwealth. 

200. How the party influences voters 459 

From Albert Bushnell Hart, Actual Government. 

201. Evils of the spoils system 461 

From the National Civil Service Reform League, Proceedings 
of the Annual Meeting, j8q4. 

202. The Civil Service Act of 1883 463 

From the Statutes of the United States, Civil Service Act 
of 1S83. 



CONTENTS xxiii 

PAGE 

203. Legal regulation of campaign contributions 465 

From Senate Documents, Publicity of Election Contribu- 
tions a)id Expenditures. 

204. Legal recognition of the political party 467 

From the Statutes of the Slate of Oregon. 

CHAPTER XXXV — CHOOSING THE AGENTS 
OF GOVERNMENT 

205. Essentials of a primary election law 471 

From James Albert Woodburn, Political Parties and Party 
Problems in the United States. 

206. The non-partisan ballot 473 

From the National Municipal Review. 

207. Adequate representation of the majority 475 

From the National Municipal Review. 

208. Adequate representation of the minority 477 

From the lUinois Legislative Reference Bureau, Constitutional 
Convention Bulletins. 

209. Evils of the long ballot 479 

From the Municipal Association of Cleveland for the Short 
Ballot Movement in Ohio, Report. 

210. The principle of the short ballot 481 

From the National Short Ballot Association, The Doctrine of 
the Short Ballot. 



CHAPTER XXXVI — HONESTY AND EFFICIENCY IN OFFICE 

211. Obstacles to intelligent legislation 486 

From the American Political Science Association, Proceed- 
ings at its Fourth Annual Meeting. 

212. The legislative reference bureau 488 

From the Wisconsin Legislative Reference Department, 
Publicity Bulletin. 

213. Defects of the state administration 490 

From the IlUnois Efhciency and Economy Committee, 
Report. 

214. Results of a reorganized state administration • 492 

From the Illinois Efficiency and Economy Committee, 
Report. 

215. Need of a federal budget 494 

From William Howard Taft, Message to Congress. 

216. Essentials of a good budget 496 

From the Academy of Political Science, Proceedings. 

217. Results of the commission plan of government 498 

From the National Municipal Review. 

218. Training the city manager 500 

From the National Municipal Review. 



xxiv CONTENTS 

PAGE 

CHAPTER XXXVII — THE EXTENSION OF POPULAR CONTROL 

219. Constitutional provision for direct legislation 505 

From the Constitution of Oklahoma. 

220. Initiative and Referendum petitions 507 

From the Statutes of the State of Missouri. 

221. Helping the voters to make laws 508 

From the Statutes of the State of Oregon. 

222. Constitutional provision for the Recall 510 

From the Constitution of Arizona. 

223. An example of how the Recall is used 512 

From the National Municipal Review. 

224. Popular control chiefly a threat 514 

From the National Municipal Review. 

CHAPTER XXXVIII — PUBLIC OPINION 

225. The origin of our personal opinions : 517 

From A. Lawrence Lowell, Public Opinion and Popular 
Government. 

226. The importance of talk 519 

From Edwin Lawrence Godkin, Problems of Modern 
Democracy. 

227. The influence of the leader 521 

From Charles Horton Cooley, Human Nature and the Social 
Order. 

228. The merits of Public Opinion 523 

From James Bryce, Modern Democracies. 

229. The defects of Public Opinion 525 

From Edward Alsworth Ross, Social Control. 

230. The improvement of Public Opinion 527 

From Frank W. Blackmar and John Lewis Gillin, Outlines 
of Sociology. 

Index 53'^ 



READINGS IN 
AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 

PART I — FOUNDATIONS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 

CHAPTER I 

THE BACKGROUND OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 

1. Christopher Columbus discovers America ^ 

Of fascinating interest to students of American history is the pri- Columbus 
vate journal of Christopher Columbus. In this journal the daring ^^^^ *" 
navigator recorded the daily happenings of his memorable first 
voyage. From what appears to be an abridgment of the original 
journal, we learn of the departure from Palos, Spain, on Friday, 
August 3, 1492, and of the anxious weeks spent in search of the Indies. 
Early in October, 1492, there is, among the weary mariners, a general 
expectation of finding land at any moment. The journal describes 
the latter part of the voyage in the following language: 

Sunday, October 7. For some time all of the vessels had been The Nina 

striving to outsail one another, and thus to be in a better position to b^'i^^es she 

has sighted 
gain the reward promised for discovering land. At sunrise, the land, but is 

Nina, leading the caravels by reason of her swiftness, hoisted ""staken. 
a flag at her mast head, and gave the signal that she had discovered 
land. All that day nothing was seen of land, but the voyagers ob- 
served flocks of birds making for the southwest, and from this it 
was thought that land lay in that direction. Knowing that the Por- 
tuguese had discovered most of the islands they possessed by attending 
to the flight of birds, we shifted the course from west to west by south- 
west. We sailed in the night nearly five leagues, and twenty-three in 
the day. . . . 

' From Christopher Columbus, Journal. Abridged by Las Casas, and trans- 
lated from the Spanish by Thames Ross Williamson. 



READINGS IN AMEBIICAN DEMOCRACY 



The sailors 
lose patience. 



Signs of 
land. 



Columbus 
sees a light. 



Land! land! 



Wednesday, October lo. By day and night we made fifty-nine 
leagues progress; as it was customary to conceal from the crew the 
actual distance traversed, the men were told that the distance was 
but forty-four leagues. At this stage the men lost all patience, and 
complained of the length of the voyage. Columbus encouraged them 
as best he could, and added that it was to no purpose to complain 
for having come so far they had nothing to do but to continue on to 
the Indies, till with the help of God, they should arrive there. . . . 

Thursday, October ii. The crew of the Pinta picked up a stick which 
appeared to have been carved with an iron tool. Members of the same 
crew also picked up a piece of cane, (a plant which grows on land), 
and a board. The crew of the Nina saw other signs of land, including 
a stalk loaded with roseberries. These signs encouraged them, and 
aU grew cheerful. We sailed till sunset, making for the entire day a 
total distance of twenty-seven leagues. 

After sunset we steered the original course west and sailed twelve 
miles an hour until two hours after midnight, going about ninety 
miles, which are twenty-two leagues and a half, . . . 

At ten o'clock that evening, whilst standing on the quarter-deck, 
the Admiral [Columbus] saw a light, though it was so small a body 
that he could not be sure that it indicated land. He called to Pero 
Gutierrez, groom of the King's wardrobe. This man was informed 
of what the Admiral had seen, and was told to look. He did so, and 
saw the light. The Admiral made the same request of Rodrigo San- 
chez of Segovia, whom the King and Queen had sent with the squad- 
ron as comptroller, but this person was unable to see the light. Later 
Columbus perceived the light once or twice again, appearing Uke 
the light of a wax candle moving up and down. He believed it to 
indicate land, and accordingly directed the seamen to keep a strict 
watch upon the fore-castle and to look diligently for land. To the 
man who should first see land Columbus promised a silken jacket, 
besides the reward which the King and Queen had offered. 

At two o'clock in the morning, [October 12], the land was dis- 
covered at two leagues distant, by a sailor named Rodrigo de Triana. 
We took in sail and remained under the square-sail lying to until 
day, which was Friday. Presently we perceived people, and these 
were naked. Accompanied by an armed guard, the Admiral landed 



THE BACKGROUND OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 3 

in a boat, along with Martin Alonzo Pinzon, and Vicente Yanez 
the latter being commander of the Nina. The Admiral bore the 
royal standard, while Pinzon and Yanez each carried a banner of 
the Green Cross, containing the initials of the names of the King 
and Queen. . . . 

Arrived on shore, Columbus called upon all present to bear witness The landing 
that he took possession of the land for the King and Queen of Spain, °^ Columbus. 
and thereupon he made the requisite declarations. Numbers of 
the people of the island straightway collected together. Columbus 
saw that the natives were very friendly, and perceived that they could 
be more easily converted to the Holy Faith by gentle means than by 
force. Accordingly, he presented them with some red caps, and with 
strings of beads and many other trifles of small value, whereupon the 
natives were delighted and became wonderfully attached to us. . . . 



2. Captain John Smith on conditions at Jamestown* 

The Spanish had not been in America long before the French turned Lack of 

their attention to the New World. The English, however, did not P'^'^sress at 

Jamestown, 
make serious attempts to colonize America until toward the end of 

the sixteenth century, and it was not until after 1600 that their efforts 
were attended by success. A promising English settlement was made 
at Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607, but for several years this was so 
unsuccessful that at length his Majesty's Commissioners in Eng- 
land asked Captain John Smith for an explanation of the colony's 
backwardness. The following passages illustrate the type of questions 
asked by the Commissioners, and the replies made by Smith: 

Question i. Why has not the plantation prospered, although you The effect 
left it in so good a condition? °*^ idleness 

and care- 

Answer. In six months idleness and carelessness brought all that lessness. 
I did in three years to nothing; and of five hundred I left, scarce 
threescore remained; and had Sir Thomas Gates not got supphes 
from the Bermudas, I think they had been all dead before they 
could be suppUed. 

Question 2. Why does nothing but tobacco come from this country, 
although the country is good? 

' From Captain John Smith, Works, 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Why the 
country 
yields only 
tobacco. 



Cause of 
the massacre. 



The defects 
of govern- 
ment. 



Answer. Because the market price of corn is such, and the market 
price of tobacco is such, that a man's labor at tobacco yields more 
than it does growing corn. Now make a man's labor in corn worth 
threescore pound, and in tobacco but ten pound a man, and they 
shall have corn sufficient to entertain all comers, and shall keep their 
people in health to do anything; but till then, there will be little 
or nothing to any purpose. 

Question 3. What do you believe was the cause of the massacre, 
and had the savages had the use of firearms in your time, or when, 
or by whom were they taught? 

Answer. The cause of the massacre was the want of martial dis- 
cipHne; and because they would have all the English had by destroy- 
ing those they found so carelessly secure, that they were not provided 
to defend themselves against; being so dispersed as they were. In 
my time, though Captain Newport furnished them with swords by 
truck, and many fugitives did the Uke, and some firearms they got 
accidentally: yet I got most of them again; and it was death to him 
that should show a savage the use of firearms. . . . 

Question 6. What think you are the defects of government both 
here and there? 

Answer. The multiplicity of opinions here, and officers there 
makes such delays by questions and formalities, that as much time is 
spent in complement as in action. Besides, some are so desirous to 
employ their ships, having six pounds for every passenger, and three 
pounds for every ton of goods, at which rate a thousand ships may 
now better be procured than one at the first, when the common stock 
defrayed aU fraughts, wages, provisions and magazines, whereby 
the ships are so pestered, as occasions much sickness, disease and 
mortality. For though all the passengers die they are sure of their 
fraught; and then all must be sa'isfied with orations, disputations, 
excuses and hopes. . . . 

But fewer adventurers here will adventure any more till they see 
the business better established, although there be some so wilfully 
improvident that they care for nothing but to get thither, and then if 
their friends be dead, or want themselves, they die or live but poorly 
for want of necessaries. To think that the old planters can relieve 
them were too much simpHcity. For if in England it is difficult for 



THE BACKGROUND OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 5 

persons themselves well-provided to feed two or three strangers, 
how much more difficult is it in Virginia, where such persons are 
themselves in want? . . . 



3. The Pilgrims resolve to leave Holland ^ 

So long as governments and joint stock companies dominated the Significance 
colonization of the New World, the settlements made httle progress, p^j^^g 
The first tenacious and really successful colonists were individuals 
and groups of individuals who came to America, not to seek treasure 
or easily gotten gains, but to build homes, to enjoy freedom of con- 
science, and to practice local self-government. Perhaps the best 
known of these early home-seekers were the Pilgrims. At the begin- 
ning of the seventeenth century several groups of these people had left 
England to settle in Holland, but though they enjoyed many advan- 
tages among the Dutch, they at length began to consider the desira- 
biUty of removing to some other place. In the following passage the 
reasons which led the Pilgrim congregation to leave Holland are 
recounted by William Bradford, one of their number: 

First, they saw by experience that the hardships of the country Hardships 
were such that relatively few others would join them, and fewer still "^ Holland, 
would remain with them in Holland. Many who came and many 
more who desired to come, could not stand the continual labor and 
hard fare and other inconveniences which they themselves had been 
content to endure. For though many desired to enjoy the ordinances 
of God in their purity, and the liberty of the gospel, yet, alas, they 
preferred to submit to bondage, with danger to their conscience, 
rather than endure these privations. Some even preferred prisons in 
England to this Uberty in Holland, with such hardships. . . . 

Secondly, they saw that though the people generally bore these Premature 
difficulties very cheerfully, and with" resolute courage, being in the ^^^' 
best strength of their years; yet old age began to steal on many of 
them, and their great and continual labors, with other crosses and 
sorrows, hastened it before their time. . . . 

Thirdly, as necessity was a task-master over them, so they them- Hardships 
selves were forced to be, not only over their servants, but in a sort 
^ From William Bradford, History of Plymouth Plantation, Chapter iv. 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



temptations 
experienced 
by their 
children. 



The 

missionary 
spirit. 



And so they 
resolve to 
remove to 
America. 



over their dearest children. This wounded the hearts of many a 
loving father and mother, and produced many sad and sorrowful 
effects. Many of their children, who were of the best disposition, 
and who had learned to bear the yoke in their youth and were will- 
ing to bear part of their parents' burden, were often so oppressed 
with their labours, that though their minds were free and willing, 
their bodies bowed under the weight and became decrepit in early 
youth. ... 

But stiU more lamentable, and of all sorrows most heavy to be 
borne, was that many of the children, influenced by these conditions, 
and the great licentiousness of the young people of the country, 
and the many temptations of the place, were led by evil example into 
dangerous courses, getting the rein off their necks and leaving their 
parents. Some became soldiers, others embarked upon voyages by 
sea, and others upon worse courses, tending to dissoluteness and the 
danger of their souls, to the great grief of the parents and the dis- 
honor of God. So they saw their posterity would be in danger to 
degenerate and become corrupt. 

Last and not least, they cherished a great hope and inward zeal 
of laying good foundations, or at least of making some way towards 
it, for the propagation and advance of the gospel of the kingdom of 
Christ in the remote parts of the world, even though they should be 
but stepping stones to others in the performance of so great a work. 

These and some other similar reasons, moved them to resolve upon 
their removal, which they afterwards prosecuted in the face of great 
difficulties. ... 

The place they fixed their thoughts upon was somewhere in those 
vast and unpeopled countries of America, which were fruitful and fit 
for habitation, though devoid of all civilized inhabitants and given 
over to savages, differing little from the wild beasts themselves. . . . 

After many things had been alleged for and against the journey, 
it was fully decided by the majority to undertake the enterprise, 
and to prosecute it by the best means they could. . . . 



THE BACKGROUND OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 7 

4. The " Mayflower " reaches New England ^ 
Determined to try their fortunes in the New World, the Pilgrims The 
returned to England, and having overcome a number of preUminary ^^^y^^^'' 
obstacles, at length set sail for America. After a tedious and distress- anchor off 
ing voyage of many weeks, they anchored in Cape Cod harbor on ^^ 
the eleventh of November, 1620. Before going ashore they adopted 
what is known as the Mayflower Compact, by means of which 
they formed themselves into a body politic. After agreeing to this 
compact, they chose John Carver to act as their governor for the 
first year. The following extracts from Bradford's History of Plym- 
outh Plantation describe the landing of the Pilgrims: 

. . . Necessity called on them to look out for a place of habitation. A party 
Having brought a large shallop with them from England, stowed in P'^^P^'''^^ ^^ 
quarters in the ship, they now got her out, and set their carpenters 
to work to trim her up; but being much bruised and battered in the 
foul weather they saw she would be long mending. So a few of them 
volunteered to go by land and explore the neighboring parts, whilst the 
shallop was put in order; particularly since, as they entered the bay, 
there seemed to be an opening some two or three leagues off, which 
the captain thought was a river. It was conceived there might be 
danger in the attempt; but seeing them resolute, sixteen of them, 
well-armed, were permitted to go, under charge of Captain Standish. 
They set forth on the 15th of November, being landed by the Some Indians 

ship's boat, and when they had marched about the space of a mile ^ ^^ 

' , are seen. 

by the seaside, they espied five or six persons with a dog coming toward 
them. They were savages; but they fled back into the woods, followed 
by the Enghsh, who wished to see if they could speak with them, 
and to discover if there were more lying in ambush. But the Indians, 
seeing themselves followed, left the woods, and ran along the sands 
as hard as they could, so our men could not come up with them, but 
followed the track of their feet several miles. . . . 

Night coming on, they made their rendezvous, and set sentinels, The next day 
and rested in quiet. Next morning they again pursued the Indians' 
tracks, till they came to a great creek, where they had left the sands 
and turned into the woods. But they continued to follow them by 
guess, hoping to find their dweUings; but soon they lost both the 
* From William Bradford, History of Plymouth Pla>Ualion, Chapter x. 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



they find 
some Indian 
com, part of 
which they 
take back to 
the ship 
with them. 



The 

exploration 
is continued. 



Indians and themselves, and fell into such thickets that their clothes 
and armour were injured severely; but they suffered most from want 
of water. At length they found some, and refreshed themselves with 
the first New England water they had drunk; and in their great 
thirst they found it as pleasant as wine or beer had been before. 
Afterwards they directed their course towards the other shore, for 
they knew it was only a neck of land they had to cross over. At 
length they got to the sea-side, and marched to this supposed river, 
and by the way found a pond of fresh water, and shortly after a 
quantity of cleared ground where the Indians had formerly planted 
corn; and they found some of their graves. 

Proceeding further, they saw stubble where corn had been grown 
the same year, and also found a place where a house had lately been, 
with some planks, and a great kettle and heaps of sand newly banked, 
under which they found several large baskets filled with corn, some 
in the ear of various colours, which was a very goodly sight they 
having never seen any Hke it before. This was near the supposed 
river that they had come to seek. When they reached it, they found 
that it opened into two arms, with a high cliff of sand at the entrance, 
but more likely to be creeks of salt water than fresh, they thought. 
There was good harbourage for their shaUop, so they left it to be 
further explored when she was ready. The time allowed them 
having expired, they returned to the ship, lest the others should be 
anxious about their safety. They took part of the corn and buried 
the rest ; and so, like the men from Eschol, carried with them of the 
fruits of the land, and showed their brethren; at which the rest 
were very glad, and greatly encouraged. 

After this, the shallop being ready, they set out again for the better 
reconnoitering of the place. The captain of the ship desired to go 
himself, so there were some thirty men. However, they found it to 
be no harbour for ships, but only for boats. They also found two 
of the Indians' houses covered with mats, and some of their imple- 
ments in them; but the people had run away and cotild not be seen. 
They also found more corn, and beans of various colours. These 
they brought away, intending to give them fuU satisfaction when 
they should meet with any of them, — as about six months after- 
wards they did. . . . 



THE BACKGROUND OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 9 

5. The struggles of the early colonists ^ 

Once it had been demonstrated that the American wilderness The work 

could be fashioned into homes, colonists flocked to the New World. . ^^ 

pioneer, 

Clusters of settlements formed all along the Atlantic seaboard, while 
back from the coast the clearing of the soUtary planter came to be 
a common sight. Though the type of settlement varied with the 
geography of the region, it is generally true that the pioneering 
process was everywhere the same. From Maine to Georgia it involved 
fashioning a rude dwelling, clearing the forest, and planting crops. 
The following description of pioneering in New England, therefore, 
may be taken as also typical of the settler's work elsewhere in the 
colonies: 

. . . The planters are necessitated to struggle with many diffi- and the 
culties. To clear a farm covered with a thick growth of large trees, °™5^""^|^^ 

■^ ° ' confronting 

such as generally abound in this country, is a work of no small him. 

magnitude. Especially is this true when, as is usually the fact, it 
is to be done by a single man; and still more especially, when that 
man is poor, and obliged to struggle with many other discour- 
agements. . . . 

When a planter commences this undertaking, he sets out for his 
farm with his axe, gun, blanket, provision and ammunition. With 
these he enters the forest and builds himself a shed by setting up 
poles at four angles, crossing them with other poles, and covering 
the whole with the bark, leaves and twigs of trees, except the south 
side, which is purposely left open to the sun and a fire. 

Under this shelter he dresses his food, and makes his bed of straw He con- 
on which he sleeps soundly beneath his blanket. Here he usually ^^^^^^ ^ 
continues through the season, and sometimes without the sight of clears the 
any other human being. After he has completed this shelter, he ground, 
begins to clear a spot of ground, i. e. to remove the forest by which 
it is covered. . . . 

After the field is burned over, his next business is to break it up. prepares it 
The instrument employed for this purpose is a large and strong har- ^°'' P'^^^ti^S' 
row. ... It is drawn over the surface a sufficient number of times 

' From Timothy Dwight, Travels in New England and New York. New Haven, 
1821. Vol. II, pp. 464-469. 



lO 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



and builds 
a house and 
a barn. 



Isolation 
handicaps 
the pioneer. 



Lack of 
medical aid. 



The problem 
of getting 
food. 



to make it mellow, and afterwards to cover the seed. A plough here 
would be of no use, as it would soon be broken to pieces by the roots 
of the trees. In the same manner the planter proceeds to another 
field, and to another, until his farm is sufficiently cleared to satisfy 
his wishes. 

The first house which he builds is formed of logs . . . with a 
stone chimney in the middle. His next labour is to procure a barn; 
generally large, well framed, covered and roofed. Compared with 
his house, it is a palace. But for this a sawmill is necessary, and is 
therefore built as early as possible. 

It will be easily beUeved that the labours already mentioned must 
be attended by fatigue and hardships, sufficient to discourage any 
man who can live tolerably on his native soil. But the principal 
sufferings of these planters, in the early periods of their business, 
spring from quite other sources. The want of neighbors to assist 
them, the want of convenient implements, and universally the want 
of those means without which the necessary business of life cannot 
be carried on, even comfortably; is among their greatest difficulties. 
The first planters at Haverhill and Newbury, on the Connecticut 
river, were obliged to go to Charlestown, more than seventy 
miles, to get their corn ground . . . and to obtain assistance to 
raise the frame of every building. At that time there was no road 
between these towns. The travelling was, of course, aU done on 
the river. . . . 

In sickness, and other cases of suffering and danger, these planters 
are often without the aid either of a physician, or a surgeon. To 
accidents they are peculiarly exposed by the nature of their employ- 
ments, while to remedies, besides such as are supplied by their own 
skill and patience, they can scarcely have any access. , . . 

As most of the first planters were poor, and as many of them had 
numerous families of small children, the burden of providing food 
for them was heavy, and discouraging. Some relief they found, at 
times, in the game with which the forests were formerly replenished. 
But supplies from that source were always precarious, and could 
never be relied on with safety. Fish, in the wild season, might often 
be caught in the streams, and in the lakes. In desperate cases the 
old settlements, though frequently distant, were always in possession 



THE BACKGROUND OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY II 

of abundance, and, in the mode either of commerce or of charity, 
would certainly prevent them and theirs from perishing with hunger. 

To balance these evils, principally suffered by the earUest class The 
of planters, they had some important advantages. Their land, ^^^vantages 
usually covered with a thick stratum of vegetable mould, was emi- life, 
nently productive. Seldom were their crops injured by the blast, 
or the mildew, and seldom were they devoured by insects. When 
the wheat was taken from the ground, a rich covering of grass was 
regularly spread over the surface, and furnished them with an ample 
supply of pasture and hay for their cattle. 

Besides the abundance of their crops, they had the continual 
satisfaction of seeing their embarrassments daily decreasing, and 
their wealth and their comforts daily increasing. . . . The planter 
is cheered by the continual sight of improvement in everything 
about him. His fields increase in number and beauty. His means 
of living are enlarged. The wearisome part of his labour is grad- 
ually lessened. His neighbors multiply, and his troubles annually 
recede. . . . 

Among the enjoyments of these people, health, and hardihood. The early 
ought never to be forgotten. The toils which they undergo, the P'^^^u'^^ ^^'^^ 
difficulties which they surmount, and the hazards which they es- active, and 
cape, all increase their spirits and their firmness. . . . The minds of optimistic, 
these settlers therefore possess the energy which results from health, 
as well as that which results from activity, and few persons taste 
the pleasures which fall to their lot, with a keener relish. The com- 
mon troubles of fife, often deeply felt by persons in easy circum- 
stances, scarcely awaken in them the slightest emotion. Cold and 
heat, snow and rain, labour and fatigue, are'regarded by them as 
trifles, deserving no attention. The coarsest food is pleasant to 
them, and the hardest bed refreshing. . . . 



6. Growth of the English colonies ^ 

Though she entered the field relatively late, England was destined Rapid 

to dominate the colonization of North America. In 1664 the Dutch '"crease in 

population. 

surrendered New Amsterdam to the English, and in 1763 France 

' From Benjamin Franklin, Works. 



12 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Cheap land 
encourages 
the settler 
to marry 
early. 



Position of 
the laborer 
in America. 



Franklin 
speculates 
as to the 
effect of 
the future 
increase 
in the 
American 
population. 



relinquished her claim to the eastern half of the Mississippi Valley. 
These concessions on the part of Holland and France left England 
in undisputed possession of the Atlantic seaboard. For a long time 
prior to 1763, moreover, the number of English subjects in America 
had been increasing rapidly, so rapidly, indeed, as to occasion fre- 
quent comment. In 1 751, for example, Benjamin Franklin antici- 
pated the growing power of the British in America in the following 
terms: 

. . . Land being thus plenty in America, and so cheap as that 
a labouring man, that understands husbandry, can in a short time 
save money enough to purchase a piece of new land sufficient for 
a plantation, whereon he may subsist a family, such are not afraid 
to marry. For if they even look far enough forward to consider 
how their children when grown up, are to be provided for, they 
see that more land is to be had at rates equally easy, all circum- 
stances considered. Hence marriages in America are more general, 
and more generally early, than in Europe. And if it is reckoned there, 
that there is but one marriage per annum among one hundred per- 
sons, perhaps we may here reckon two, and if in Europe they have 
but four births to a marriage, ... we may here reckon eight, of 
which if one half grow up, and our marriages are made, . . . our 
people must at least be doubled every twenty years. 

But notwithstanding this increase, so vast is the territory of 
North America, that it will require many ages to settle it fully. 
And till it is fully settled, labour will never be cheap here, where 
no man continues long a laborer for others, but gets a plantation of 
his own. No man continues long a journeyman to a trade, but goes 
among those new settlers and sets up for himself, etc. Hence labour 
is no cheaper now, in Pennsylvania, than it was thirty years ago, 
though so many thousand labouring people have been imported. . . . 

There is ... no bound to the prolific nature of plants or animals, 
but what is made by their crowding and interfering with each other's 
means of subsistence. If the face of the earth were vacant of other 
plants, it might be gradually sowed and overspread with one kind 
only, as for instance, with fennel; and if it were empty of other in- 
habitants, it might in a few ages be replenished from one nation only, 
as for instance, with Englishmen. 



THE BACKGROUND OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 13 

Thus there are suposed to be now upwards of one million English 
souls in North America, . . . and yet perhaps there is not one the 
fewer in Britain, but rather many more, on account of the employ- 
ment the colonies afford to manufacturers at home. This million 
doubUng, suppose but once in twenty-five years, will in another 
century be more than the people of England, and the greatest number 
of Enghshmen will be on this side of the water. What an accession 
of power to the British Empire by sea as well as land! What in- 
crease of trade and navigation! What numbers of ships and seamen! 
We have been here but little more than one hundred years, and yet 
the force of our privateers in the late war, united, was greater, both 
in men and guns, than that of the whole British navy in Queen Eliz- 
abeth's time. How important an affair then to Britain is the present 
treaty for settling the bounds between her colonies and the French, 
and how careful should she be to secure room enough, since on the 
room depends so much the increase of her people. . . . 



Questions on the foregoing Readings 

1. On what date did Columbus leave Spain on his first voyage of 

discovery? 

2. Why do you suppose Columbus deceived his crew as to the actual 

distance traversed? 

3. What signs of land were encountered on October nth? 

4. Describe the first sight of land on the morning of October 12th. 

5. What did Columbus do when he went ashore? 

6. What two European powers preceded England in the coloniza- 

tion of the New World? 

7. How did Captain John Smith explain the failure of the colony 

at Jamestown to progress? 

8. Why did the early settlers at Jamestown prefer growing tobacco 

to growing corn? 

9. What was Smith's suggestion as to the method of causing the 

colonists to prefer corn culture to tobacco raising? 

10. What did Smith give as the cause of the Jamestown massacre? 

11. What, according to Smith, were the defects of government in 

Virginia? 

12. What is the significance of the Pilgrims? 

13. When did the Pilgrims settle in Holland? 

14. Describe the life of the Pilgrims in Holland. 



14 READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 

15. Give several reasons why the Pilgrims resolved to remove from 

Holland to America. 

16. What did they do when they had made this resolve? 

17. Describe the landing of the Pilgrims in New England. 

18. Where did they find some corn which the Indians had hidden? 

19. Describe the work of the early settler in clearing the forest and 

preparing the soil for planting. 

20. To what extent was isolation a handicap to the early settler? 

21. Name some of the advantages of pioneer life. 

22. What can be said as to the health and spirits of the early pioneers? 

23. What was the relation between cheap land and early marriages in 

Colonial America? 

24. Why was labour well paid in early America? 

25. What was Benjamin Franklin's prediction as to the future popu- 

lation of America? 



CHAPTER II 
THE ORIGIN OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 

7. King John is forced to sign the Magna Charta i 

At the same time that the early American colonists were building Significance 
homes in the wilderness, they were also developing their ideas of ment^isned 
government. Without exception these early colonists were from the by King 
monarchical countries of Europe, yet a considerable number brought ^^jr ^^ 
to their new home certain definite behefs as to rights of the individual. 
Some of the settlers who came from England, for example, looked back 
to the Magna Charta as a definite limitation upon the royal power. 
This instrument, signed by King John on June 15, 1215, reduced many 
of the vague rights of Englishmen to tangible form. As a definite 
body of law, it constitutes the basis of all later English and American 
written statements of free institutions. The first ten amendments 
to our Federal Constitution, as well as the bill of rights attached to 
the constitutions of the several American states, have been called 
by Lord Bryce "the legitimate children of Magna Charta." The 
following are the most significant passages in this celebrated doc- 
ument: 

. . . We also have granted to all the freemen of our kingdom, for a grant of 
us and for our heirs for ever, all the underwritten liberties, to be had f.^*^™^' 

liberties. 

and holden by them and their heirs, of us and our heirs for ever. . . . 

And for holding the general council of the kingdom concerning This clause 

the assessment of aids, except in the three cases aforesaid, and for ^^^^^ became 

the germ of 

the assessing of scut age, we shall cause to be summoned the arch- representa- 

bishops, bishops, abbots, earls, and greater barons of the realm, \^^^ "^ ^}^^ 

House of 

singly by our letters. And furthermore, we shall cause to be sum- Commons. 

moned generally, by our sherififs and bailiffs, all others who hold of 

us in chief, for a certain day . . . and to a certain place; and in all 

1 From the Magna Charta. 

IS 



i6 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Justice is 
guaranteed. 



A check on 
the king. 



Both the 
king and the 
barons agree 
to respect 
the terms 
of the 
charter. 



letters of such summons we will declare the cause of such summons. 
And, summons being thus made, the business shall proceed on the 
day appointed, according to the advice of such as shall be present, 
although aU that were summoned come not. . . . 

Nothing from henceforth shall be given or taken for a writ of 
inquisition of life or Umb, but it shall be granted freely, and not 
denied. . . . 

No freeman shall be taken or imprisoned, or dispossessed, or out- 
lawed, or banished, or any ways destroyed, nor will we pass upon 
him, nor will we send upon him, unless by the lawful judgment of his 
peers, or by the law of the land. 

We will sell to no man, we will not deny to any man, either justice 
or right. . . . 

And whereas, for the honor of God and the amendment of our 
kingdom, and for the better quieting the discord that has arisen 
between us and our barons, we have granted aU these things afore- 
said; willing to render them firm and lasting, we do give and grant 
our subjects the underwritten security, namely, that the barons 
may choose five and twenty barons of the kingdom, whom they think 
convenient; who shall take care, with aU their might, to hold and 
observe, and cause to be observed, the peace and liberties we have 
granted them. . . . 

Wherefore we wiU and firmly enjoin . . . that aU men in our 
kingdom have and hold aU the aforesaid liberties, rights and con- 
cessions, truly and peaceably, freely and quietly, fuUy and wholly 
to themselves and their heirs, of us and our heirs, in all things and 
places, for ever, as is aforesaid. It is also sworn, as well on our part 
as on the part of the barons, that all the things aforesaid shall be 
observed in good faith, and without evil subtilty. Given under our 
hand, ... in the meadow called Runingmede, between Windsor 
and Staines, the 15th day of June, in the 17th year of our reign. 



8. The Pilgrims agree to establish a pure democracy* 

When the Pilgrims set out for America they took with them the 
memory of all those traditional guarantees which had first been put 

1 From the Mayflower Compact, 1620. 



THE ORIGIN OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 1 7 

in writing by the Magna Charta. In addition they carried with them The Pilgrims 
the experience of the community self-government which had been ^J'^^n"^ 
a feature of their several years' residence in Holland. When, there- Compact. 
fore, they dropped anchor in Cape Cod harbor on November 11, 1620, 
they had at least two political principles in mind: First, the neces- 
sity of protecting individuals against governmental aggression; 
second, the importance of established government in a new land. 
Before landing, they accordingly "by mutual consent entered into 
a solemn combination, as a body poKtic, to submit to such govern- 
ment and governors, laws and ordinances, as should by a general 
consent, from time to time, be made choice of, and assented unto." 
The text of this Mayflower Compact follows: 

In the name of God, Amen. We whose names are underwritten. Preamble, 
the loyal subjects of our dread sovereign Lord, King James, by the 
grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland King, Defender 
of the faith, etc. 

Having undertaken for the glory of God, and advancement of the They agree 
Christian faith, and honor of our King and country, a voyage to *"^, 1. f ^^' . 
plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia; do by these of a civil 
presents solemnly and mutually, in the presence of God and of one ^!^'^Y p°'*T 
another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil body new home. 
poUtic, for our better ordering and preservation, and furtherance 
of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and 
frame such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and 
offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and con- 
venient for the general good of the colony; unto which we promise 
all due submission and obedience. 

In witness whereof, we have hereunto subscribed our names, at 
Cape Cod, the eleventh of November, in the reign of our sovereigii 
Lord King James, of England, France, and Ireland the eighteenth, 
and of Scotland the fifty-fourth, Alino Dom. 1620. 

John Carver Edward Tilly Digery Priest The signers 

William Bradford John Tilly Thomas Williams oi the 

Edward Winslow Francis Cooke Gilbert Winslow Com^art^'^ 

William Brewster Thomas Rogers Edmund Margeson 

Isaac AUerton Thomas Tinker Peter Brown 

Miles Standish John Ridgdale Richard Bitteridge 

John Alden Edward Fuller George Soule 



i8 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Samuel Fuller 
Christopher Martin 
William Mullins 
William White 
Richard Warren 
John Rowland 
Stephen Hopkins 



John Turner 
Francis Eaton 
James Chilton 
John Craxton 
John Billington 
Joses Fletcher 
John Goodman 



Richard Clark 
Richard Gardiner 
John AUerton 
Thomas English 
Edward Doten 
Edward Leister 



In 1619 the 
colony of 
Virginia was 
granted a 
representa- 
tive 
assembly. 



Greeting! 



Object of 
the ordi- 
nance. 



9. Representative government in America ^ 

The English had settled at Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607, but 
for several years the colonists suffered great hardships under what 
resembled miUtary government. In 1619, Sir George Yeardley ar- 
rived with the commission of governor-general from the Company 
which had planted the colony. Realizing the stimulating effect 
which self-government would have upon the colonists, the Com- 
pany ordered Yeardley to see that "a general assembly should be 
held yearly once, whereat were to be present the Governor and 
Council, with two burgesses from each plantation freely to be elected 
by the inhabitants thereof; this assembly to have power to make 
and ordain whatsoever laws and orders should by them be thought 
good and profitable for our subsistence." The result was the es- 
tablishment, in 1619, of the Virginia House of Burgesses, the first 
representative assembly in America. The following passages are 
extracts from the Ordinance for Virginia, 162 1, which granted to the 
colony for the future the same form of government: 

To all people, to whom these presents shall come, be seen, or heard, 
the Treasurer, Council, and Company of Adventurers and Planters 
for the city of London for the first Colony of Virginia, send greeting. 

Know ye, that we . . . have thought fit to make our entrance, 
by ordering and establishing such supreme councils, as may not 
only be assisting to the Governor for the time being, in the adminis- 
tration of justice, and the executing of other duties to this office 
belonging, but also, by their vigilant care and prudence, may pro- 
vide, as well for a remedy of all inconveniences, growing from time 
to time, as also for the advancing of increase, strength, stability, 
and prosperity of the said colony: 

* From the Ordinance for Virginia, 1621. 



THE ORIGIN OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 19 

We therefore, ... by authority directed to us from his Majesty Two 
under the Great Seal, upon mature deHberation, do hereby order ^^P""^"^^ 

councils 

and declare, that, from hence forward, there shall be two supreme established, 
councils in Virginia, for the better government of the said colony 
aforesaid. 

The one of which councils, to be called the Council of State, (and The Council 
whose office shall chiefly be assisting, with their care, advice, and °^ ?*^*^ 

and 

circumspection, to the said Governor), shall be chosen, nominated, 
placed, and displaced, from time to time, by us, the said Treasurer, 
Council, and Company, and our successors. . . . 

Which said counsellors and council we earnestly pray and desire, its duties. 
and in his Majesty's name strictly charge and command, that . . . 
they bend their care and endeavours to assist the said Governor; 
first and principally, in the advancement of the honour and service 
of God, and the enlargement of his kingdom amongst the heathen 
people; and next, in erecting of the said colony in due obedience to 
his Majesty, and all lawful authority from his Majesty's directions; 
and lastly, in maintaining the said people in justice and Christian 
conversation amongst themselves, and in strength and ability to 
withstand their enemies. . . . 

The other council, more generally to be called by the Governor, The second 
once yearly, and no oftener, but for very extraordinary and important ^^"""' ^ 
occasions, shall consist, for the present, of the said Council of State, sembly. 
and of two burgesses out of every town, hundred, or other particular . 
plantation, to be respectively chosen by the inhabitants: which 
council shall be called the General Assembly, wherein (as also in 
the said Council of State) all matters shall be decided, determined 
and ordered, by the greater part of the voices then present; reserving 
to the Governor always a negative voice. 

And this General Assembly shall have free power to treat, consult, its powers. 
and conclude, as well of all emergent occasions concerning the public 
weal of the said colony and every part thereof, as also to make, ordain, 
and enact such general laws and orders, for the behoof of the said 
colony, and the good government thereof, as shall, from time to time, 
appear necessary or requisite; . . . 

Provided, that no law or ordinance, made in the said General 
Assembly, shall be or continue in force or validity, unless the same 



20 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Limitations 
upon the 
power of 
the 
Assembly. 



shall be solemnly ratified and confirmed, in a General Quarter Court 
of the said Company here in England, and so ratified, be returned 
to them under our seal; it being our intent to afford the like measure 
also unto the said colony, that after the government of the said colony 
shall once have been well framed, and settled accordingly, . . . and 
the same shall have been so by us declared, no orders of court after- 
wards shall bind the said colony, unless they be ratified in like manner 
in the General Assemblies. . . . 



Three towns 
are settled 
in the Con- 
necticut 
valley. 



The neces- 
sity of es- 
tablished 
government 
is recog- 
nized. 



10. A republic established in the Connecticut wilderness ^ 

In June, 1636, Reverend Thomas Hooker of Newtown, (now 
Cambridge, Massachusetts), and his entire congregation set out 
on foot for the Connecticut valley, driving their cattle before them, 
and carrying their household goods in wagons. They founded 
Hartford on the Connecticut river, while near by, on the same river, 
other congregations from Dorchester and Watertown settled Windsor 
and Wether sfield. In January, 1638-1639, the three towns united 
themselves into a republic under an instrument known as the Funda- 
mental Orders of Connecticut. The following are extracts from this 
document, called by many authorities the first written constitution 
in America: 

. . . Forasmuch as it hath pleased the Almighty God ... so 
to order and dispose of things that we the inhabitants and residents 
of Windsor, Hartford and Wethersfield are now . . . dwelling in and 
upon the river of Connecticut and the lands thereunto adjoining; And 
weU knowing that where a people are gathered together the word 
of God requires that to maintain the peace and union of such a people 
there should be an orderly and decent government, . . . [we] do there- 
fore associate and conjoin ourselves to be as one pubUc State or Com- 
monwealth, and do, for ourselves and our successors and such as shall 
be adjoined to us at any time hereafter, enter into combination and 
confederation together, to maintain and preserve the liberty and 
purity of the gospel of our Lord Jesus ... as also the discipline of 
the churches. . . . 

As also in our civil affairs to be guided and governed according 

^ From the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, 1638-1639. 



THE ORIGIN OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 21 

to such laws, rules, orders and decrees as shall be made, ordered and 
decreed, as follows: 

It is ordered . . . that there shall be yearly two general assemblies Civil govern- 
or courts, the one the second Thursday in April, the other the second ™^"^ P™" 
Thursday in September, following. The first shall be called the 
Court of Election, wherein shall be yearly chosen ... so many 
magistrates and other pubhc officers as shall be found requisite. . . . 

Which choice shall be made by all that are admitted freemen and The 
have taken the oath of fidelity, and do cohabit within this jurisdic- ^"2r3,ge. 
tion, (having been admitted inhabitants by the major part of the 
town wherein they live) or the major part of such as shall be then 
present. • . . 

It is ordered . . . that no person be chosen Governor above once Election of 

in two years, and that the Governor be always a member of ^^ 

•^ _ _ Governor. 

some approved congregation, and formerly of the magistracy within 
this jurisdiction; and all the magistrates freemen of this Common- 
wealth; and that no magistrate or other public officer shall execute 
any part of his or their office before they are severally sworn. . . . 

It is ordered . . . that Windsor, Hartford and Wethersfield shall Represen- 
have power, each town, to send . . . deputies to every General t3.tion. 
Court, and whatsoever other towns shaU be hereafter added to this 
jurisdiction, they shall send as many deputies as the Court shall 
think best; . . . which deputies shall have the power of the whole 
town to give their votes and allowance to all such laws and orders 
as may be for the public good, and unto which the said towns are 
to be bound. . . . 

It is ordered . . . that every General Court (except such as through Membership 
neglect of the Governor and the greatest part of magistrates the ° ^^ 
freemen themselves do call) shall consist of the Governor (or some Court. 
one chosen to moderate the Court), and four other magistrates at 
least, with the major part of the deputies of the several towns legally 
chosen. 

And in case the freemen, or major part of them, through neglect 
or refusal of the Governor and major part of the magistrates, shall 
call a court, it shall consist of the major part of the freemen that 
are present, or their deputies. . . . 

In which said General Courts shall consist the supreme power of 



22 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Powers of 
the 

General 
Court. 



Internal 
organi- 
zation. 



the Commonwealth, and they only shall have power to make laws 
or repeal them, to grant levies, to admit freemen, . . . and also 
shall have power to call either Court or magistrate or any other 
person whatsoever into question for any misdemeanor. And [the 
General Court] may for just cause displace or deal otherwise, ac- 
cording to the nature of tha offence. And also [it] may deal in any 
other matter that concerns tha good of the Commonwealth, except 
election of magistrates, which shall be done by the whole body of 
freemen. 

In which [General] Court the Governor or moderator shall have 
power to order the Court to give Hberty of speech, and silence un- 
seasonable and disorderly speakings, to put all things to vote, and 
in case the vote be equal, to have the casting voice. But none of 
these Courts shall be adjourned or dissolved without the consent 
of the major part of the Court. . . . 



Strained 
relations 
with Eng- 
land lead 
more and 
more often 
to colonial 
protests and 
declarations 
of rights. 



Preamble to 
the Virginia 
Bill of 
Rights. 

Natural 
rights. 



11. Virginia asserts the principles of just government^ 

In the century and a half following the establishment of the first 
English colonies on the Atlantic seaboard the principles of local 
self-government had found widespread acceptance among the Ameri- 
cans. As relations with the mother country became more and more 
strained, it was evident that many of the colonies considered these 
principles in danger. The determination of the Americans to main- 
tain their rights against English aggression led, more and more 
often, to colonial protests against English colonial poMcies, and to 
declarations of rights. One of the most important of these declara- 
tions is the Virginia Bill of Rights, adopted by a convention that 
met in Williamsburg, May 6, 1776. The following are some of the 
more significant passages from this document: 

Made by the Representatives of the good people of Virginia, 
assembled in full and free convention, which rights do pertain to 
them and their posterity as the basis and foundation of government. 

That all men are by nature equally free and independent, and have 
certain inherent rights, of which, when they enter into a state of 
society, they cannot by any compact, deprive or divest their posterity; 
1 From the Virginia Bill of Rights, 1776. 



THE ORIGIN OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 23 

namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty with the means of acquiring 
and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness 
and safety. 

That all power is vested in, and consequently derived from, the Basis of 
people; that magistrates are their trustees and servants, and at all government, 
times amenable to them. 

That government is, or ought to be, instituted for the common The object 
benefit, protection and security of the people, nation, or community; °^ govem- 
of all the various modes and forms of government, that is best which 
is capable of producing the greatest degree of happiness and safety, 
and is most effectually secured against the danger of maladminis- 
tration; and that, when a government shall be found inadequate 
or contrary to these purposes, a majority of the community hath 
an indubitable, unalienable and indefeasible right to reform, alter 
or abolish it, in such manner as shall be judged most conducive to 
the pubhc weal. . . . 

That the legislative, executive and judicial powers should be sep- The three- 
arate and distinct; and that the members thereof may be restrained ? /'' 

sion of 
from oppression, by feeling and participating the burdens of the govern- 

people, they should, at fixed periods, be reduced to a private station, ""^"^al 

return into that body from which they were originally taken, and 

the vacancies be supplied by frequent, certain and regular elections, 

in which all, or any part of the former members to be again eligible 

or ineligible, as the laws shall direct. 

That all elections ought to be free, and that all men having sufficient The suf- 
evidence of permanent common interest with, and attachment to '■''^g^' ^^'^ 
the community, have the right of suffrage, and cannot be taxed, or 
deprived of their property for pubhc uses, without their own consent, 
or that of their representatives so elected; nor bound by any law 
to which they have not in like manner assented, for the pubhc 
good. ... 

That in all capital or criminal prosecutions, a man hath a right Protection 
to demand the cause and nature of his accusation, to be confronted °. \ , '": 

dividual in 

with the accusers and witnesses, to call for evidence in his favor, and his legal 
to a speedy trial by an impartial jury of twelve men of his vicinage, relations, 
without whose unanimous consent he cannot be found guilty; nor 
can he be compelled to give evidence against himself; that no man 



24 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Bail and 

punish- 
ments. 
Jury trial. 



Freedom of 
the press. 



The condi- 
tions of 
free govern- 
ment. 



Freedom of 
worship. 



be deprived of his liberty, except by the law of the land or the judg- 
ment of his peers. 

That excessive bail ought not to be required, nor excessive fines 
imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. . . . 

That in controversies respecting property, and in suits between 
man and man, the ancient trial by jury of twelve men is preferable 
to any other, and ought to be held sacred. 

That the freedom of the press is one of the great bulwarks of 
liberty, and can never be restrained but by despotic governments. . . . 

That the people have a right to uniform government; and, there- 
fore, that no government separate from or independent of the govern- 
ment of Virginia, ought to be erected or established within the limits 
thereof. 

That no free government, or the blessing of liberty, can be pre- 
served to any people, but by a firm adherence to justice, moderation, 
temperance, frugality and virtue, and by a frequent recurrence to 
fundamental principles. 

That religion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator, and the 
manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and con- 
viction, not by force or violence; and therefore all men are equally 
entitled to the free exercise of rehgion, according to the dictates 
of conscience; and that it is the duty of all to practise Christian 
forbearance, love and charity toward each other. . . . 



The circum- 
stances 
leading up 
to the 
Declaration 
of Independ- 
ence in 
1776. 



12. The colonies declare their independence ^ 

In 1774 the First Continental Congress met at Philadelphia to 
protest against the attitude of Great Britain toward the colonies. 
Instead of improving, however, the situation grew worse, and in 
April, 177s, the Americans clashed with British troops at Concord 
and Lexington. Actual warfare necessitating some joint action on 
the part of the colonies, a Second Continental Congress was con- 
vened in Philadelphia on May 10, 1775. On June 7, 1776, Richard 
Henry Lee of Virginia submitted to the Congress three resolutions, 
the first of which declared "That these United Colonies are, and 
of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are ab- 
1 From the Declaration of Independence, 1776. 



THE ORIGIN OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 25 

solved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political 
connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and 
ought to be, totally dissolved." The resolutions were seconded by 
John Adams, and a declaration to the effect of the said first resolu- 
tion was drawn up. This was the celebrated Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, which on July 4, 1776, was agreed to, and signed by John 
Hancock as president of the Congress. The complete text of the 
declaration follows: 

When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for Preliminary 
one people to dissolve the pohtical bands which have connected statement, 
them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, 
the separate and equal station to which the laws of Nature and 
of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of 
mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel 
them to the separation. 

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created The nature 

equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain un- govem- 

. . . ment. 

alienable rights, that among these are hfe, liberty and the pursuit 

of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are in- 
stituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent 
of the governed. 
That whenever any form of government becomes destructive Under what 

of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, '^"'c^™" 

stances a 
and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such government 

principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall oj^g^t to be 
seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, aboHshed. 
indeed, will dictate that governments long estabUshed should not 
be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all ex- 
perience hath shown, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, 
while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing 
the forms to which they are accustofned. But when a long train of 
abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces 
a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, 
it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new 
guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient suffer- 
ance of these colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains 
them to alter their former systems of government. The history of 



26 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



The colo- 
nies submit 
a list of 
injuries 
which they 
have sus- 
tained at 
the hands 
of the 
English 
monarch. 



the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries 
and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an 
absolute tyranny over these states. To prove this, let facts be 
submitted to a candid world. 

He has refused his assent to .laws, the most wholesome and 
necessary for the public good. 

He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and 
pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his 
assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly 
neglected to attend to them. 

He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of 
large districts of people, unless those people would rehnquish the 
right of representation in the legislature, a right inestimable to 
them and formidable to tyrants only. 

He has caUed together legislative bodies at places unusual, un- 
comfortable, and distant from the depository of their public records, 
for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his 
measures. 

He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for oppos- 
ing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people. 

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause 
others to be elected; whereby the legislative powers, incapable 
of annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exer- 
cise; the state remaining in the mean time exposed to aU the dangers 
of invasion from without, and convulsions within. 

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these states; 
for that purpose obstructing the laws of naturaMzation of for- 
eigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, 
and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands. 

He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his 
assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers. 

He has made judges dependent on his will alone, for the tenure 
of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries. 

He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms 
of officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance. 

He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies with- 
out the consent of our legislature. 



THE ORIGIN OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 27 

He has affected to render the miUtary independent of and superior 
to the civil power. 

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign 
to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his 
assent to their acts of pretended legislation: 

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us: 

For protecting them, by a mock trial, from punishment for any 
murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of these states: 

For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world: 

For imposing taxes on us without our consent: 

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury: 

For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended offences: 

For abolishing the free system of EngUsh laws in a neighbouring 
province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging 
its boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instru- 
ment for introducing the same absolute rule into these colonies: 

For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable 
laws, and altering fundamentally the forms of our governments: 

For suspending our own legislature, and declaring themselves 
invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever. 

He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his 
protection and waging war against us. 

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, 
and destroyed the Uves of our people. 

He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries 
to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already 
begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled 
in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a 
civilized nation. 

He has constrained our fellow citizens taken captive on the 
high seas to bear arms against their "country, to become the execu- 
tioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their 
hands. 

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has en- 
deavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless 
Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished 
destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions. 



28 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



The 
colonies 
have re- 
peatedly 
appealed 
against the 
tyrannous 
attitude of 
the king, 
but in vain. 



In view of 
the facts 
submitted 
in this doc- 
ument the 
colonies de- 
clare them- 
selves free 
and inde- 
pendent 
states. 



Ill every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for re- 
dress in the most humble terms: Our repeated petitions have been 
answered only by repeated injury. A prince, whose character is thus 
marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the 
ruler of a free people. 

Nor have we been wanting in attention to our British brethren. 
We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legis- 
lature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have 
reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settle- 
ment here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanim- 
ity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred 
to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt 
our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf 
to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, 
acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our separation, and 
hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war, in 
peace friends. 

We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, 
in General Congress, assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge 
of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, 
and by authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly 
publish and declare. That these United Colonies are, and of right 
ought to be free and independent states; that they are absolved 
from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all poHtical con- 
nection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought 
to be totally dissolved; and that as free and independent states, 
they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, 
estabUsh commerce, and to do all other acts and things which 
independent states may of right do. And for the support of this 
declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Provi- 
dence, we mutually pledge to each other our fives, our fortunes 
and our sacred honor. 



Questions on the foregoing Readings 

I. What, according to Lord Bryce, are " the legitimate children of 
Magna Charta"? 



THE ORIGIN OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 29 

2. To what extent may it be claimed that the principle of repre- 

sentation in the House of Commons goes back to the Magna 
Charta? 

3. What does the Magna Charta say concerning justice? 

4. What guarantee did the Magna Charta provide in order that the 

promises contained in this document should be carried into 
effect? 

5. In what terms did the King and the barons agree to observe the 

Magna Charta? 

6. What two political principles did the Pilgrims have in mind when 

they dropped anchor in Cape Cod harbor? 

7. Why did the Pilgrims agree to establish a civil body politic in 

their new home? 

8. Name some of the signers of the Mayflower Compact. 

9. What were the circumstances surrounding the establishment of 

the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1619? 

10. What was the object of the Ordinance for Virginia? 

11. Name the two supreme councils which the ordinance established. 

12. What persons were to constitute the membership of the second 

council? 

13. What were the powers of this council? 

14. What limitations were placed upon its powers? 

15. Briefly describe the origin of the three Connecticut towns of 

Windsor, Hartford and Wethersfield. 

16. Why did the inhabitants of these three towns come together to 

establish a joint government? 

17. Define the suffrage under the Connecticut Fundamental Orders. 

18. Who were to be members of the General Court? 

19. What were the powers of the General Court? 

20. What is the date of the Virginia Bill of Rights? 

21. What did this bill of rights say concerning the " inherent rights " 

of men? 

22. What, according to this bill of rights, is the basis of government? 

23. What was declared to be the object of government? 

24. What did this bill of rights say concerning the legal rights of the 

individual? 

25. Outline the contents of the Declaration of Independence. 

26. Why did the colonies feel that this declaration was necessary? 



CHAPTER III 



THE DEVELOPMENT OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Political 
development 
in early 
America. 



The New 
England 
Confedera- 
tion, 1643. 



Purpose of 
the colo- 
nies in 
uniting. 



13. Four colonies combine for mutual defense ^ 

Political development in the British colonies of North America 
proceeded along two lines at the same time. On the one hand, there 
was a development of democratic institutions in local government. 
As we have seen in the last chapter, this development culminated 
in the Declaration of Independence and the triumph of state 
sovereignty. On the other hand, there was, for more than a century 
preceding the Revolution, a growing tendency toward union among 
the colonies. The first definite attempt at union occurred in 1643, 
under the name of the New England Confederation. This consisted 
of a league between Massachusetts, Plymouth, Connecticut and 
New Haven. The chief purpose of the Confederation was mutual 
defense against the Indians in their midst, the French on the north, 
and the Dutch in New Netherland. The following are the most 
significant passages of the agreement between the four colonies: 

Whereas we aU came into these parts of America, with one and 
the same end and aim, namely, to advance the Kingdom of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, and to enjoy the Uberties of the Gospel, in purity with 
peace; and whereas in our settling ... we are further dispersed 
upon the seacoasts and rivers than was at first intended, so that we 
cannot with convenience communicate in one government and 
jurisdiction; and whereas we live encompassed with people of several 
nations, and strange languages, which hereafter may prove injurious 
to us, and our posterity: And forasmuch as the natives have formerly 
committed sundry insolencies and outrages upon several plantations 
of the English, and have of late combined against us. And seeing 
by reason of the sad distractions in England, which they have heard 
1 From the New England Confederation, 1643. 
30 



DEVELOPMENT OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 31 

of, and by which they know we are hindered both from that humble 
way of seeking advice, and reaping those comfortable fruits of pro- 
tection which, at other times, we might well expect: we, therefore, 
do conceive it our bounden duty, without delay, to enter into a 
present constitution amongst ourselves, for mutual help and strength 
in all our future concernments, that, as in nation, and religion, so, 
in other respects, we be, and continue, one, according to the tenor 
and true meaning of the ensuing articles. 

Wherefore it is fully agreed and concluded by and between the Name of 
parties, or jurisdictions fof Massachusetts, Plymouth, Connecticut *^? ^^^' 

^ ' ■> '- federation. 

and New Haven] that they all be, and henceforth be called by the 
name of The United Colonies of New England. 

The said United Colonies for themselves and their posterities, "A firm 
do jointly and severally hereby enter into a firm and perpetual league ^^^' 

of friendship and amity, for offence and defence, mutual advice and league." 
succour, upon all just occasions, both for the preserving and propa- 
gating the truth, and liberties of the Gospel, and for their own mutual 
safety and welfare. . . . 

It is also agreed. That for the managing and concluding of all The govern- 
affairs proper to, and concerning the whole Confederation, two com- "^^"* °^ ^^^ 

• • Confedera- 

missioners shall be chosen by, and out of the four jurisdictions, tion. 
namely, two for the Massachusetts, two for Plymouth, two for Con- 
necticut, and two for New Haven, . . . which shall bring full power 
from their several General Courts respectively, to hear, examine, weigh, 
and determine aU affairs of war, or peace, leagues, aids, charges, and 
numbers of men for war, division of spoils, or whatsoever is gotten 
by conquest, receiving of more confederates, or plantations into 
combination with any of these confederates, and all things of like 
nature . . . not intermeddHng with the government of any of the 
jurisdictions, which ... is preserved entirely to themselves. . . . 

It is further agreed. That these "eight commissioners shall meet Meetings 
once every year, besides extraordinary meetings, ... to consider, °^ ^^ 
treat, and conclude of all affairs belonging to this Confederation, which commis- 
meeting shall ever be the first Thursday in September. . . . sioners. 

And for that the justest wars may be of dangerous conse- The con- 

quence, ... it is agreed, that neither the Massachusetts, Plymouth, ^/°' ^^ 

_, . future wars. 

Connecticut, nor New Haven, nor any of the members of any of them. 



32 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Violation of 
the agree- 
ment. 



shall at any time hereafter begin, undertake, or engage themselves, 
or this Confederation, or any part thereof, in any war whatsoever , . . 
without the consent and agreement of the forenamed eight com- 
missioners, or at least six of them. . . . 

It is further agreed, That if any of the confederates shall here- 
after break any of these present articles, or be any other way injurious 
to any one of the other jurisdictions, such breach of agreement or 
injury, shall be duly considered, and ordered by the commissioners 
for the other jurisdictions, that both peace, and this present Con- 
federation, may be entirely preserved without violation. . . . 



Increased 
need of an 
inter- 
colonial 



Franklin's 
proposal. 



President- 
General and 
Grand 
Council. 



14. The union of all of the colonies is proposed ^ 

The New England Confederation rendered effective service against 
the Indians for forty years, but ceased to exist about 1684. The 
Dutch were no longer a menace after 1664, in which year New Nether- 
land became a British possession. However, the danger of attack 
from the French and Indians increased. In 1754 war between England 
and France was imminent, and the peace and safety of all of the 
British possessions in America were again threatened. To meet 
the emergency, Benjamin FrankUn drew up a plan of union, under 
which all of the colonies were to be governed. The following are 
the chief provisions of this plan, .called the Albany plan of union, 
because it was adopted by a convention of colonial delegates at 
Albany in 1754: 

It is proposed that humble application be made for an act of 
ParHament of Great Britain, by virtue of which one general govern- 
ment may be formed in America, including all the said colonies, 
within and under which government each colony may retain its 
present constitution, except in the particulars wherein a change may 
be directed by the said act, as hereafter follows: 

That the said general government be administered by a President- 
General, to be appointed and supported by the Crown; and a Grand 
Council, to be chosen by the representatives of the people of the 
several colonies met in their respective assemblies. 

That within [a certain number of] months, after the passing of 
1 From the Albany Plan of Union, 1754. 



DEVELOPMENT OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 7,3 

such act, the House of Representatives that happens to be sitting Election 
within that time, or that shall be especially for that purpose con- u" /^'^'"j 
vened, may and shall choose members for the Grand Council, in the the Grand 
following proportion, that is to say, Massachusetts Bay 7, New C^''"""^- 
Hampshire 2, Connecticut 5, Rhode Island 2, New York 4, New 
Jersey 3, Pennsylvania 6, Maryland 4, Virginia 7, North CaroUna 4, 
and South Carolina 4, i.e. a. total of 48. 

[These representatives] shall meet for the first time at the city Meetings of 
of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, being called by the President- ^^ Grand 
General as soon as conveniently may be after his appointment. 

That there shall be a new election of the members of the Grand 
Council every three years; and, on the death or resignation of any 
member, his place shall be supplied by a new choice at the next 
sitting of the Assembly of the colony he represented. . . . 

That the Grand Council shall meet once in every year, and oftener 
if occasion require, at such time and place as they shall adjourn to 
at the last preceding meeting, or as they shall be called to meet at 
by the President- General on any emergency, he having first obtained 
in writing the consent of seven of the members to such call, and 
sent due and timely notice to the whole. . . . 

That the assent of the President- General be requisite to all acts Assent of 
of the Grand Council, and that it be his office and duty to cause ^.^ ^^^^' 
them to be carried into execution. General. 

That the President- General, with the advice of the Grand Council, 
hold or direct all Indian treaties, in which the general interest of 
the colonies may be concerned; and make peace or declare war with 
Indian nations. 

That they make such laws as they judge necessary for regulating Powers with 

all Indian trade. f 'P^^^ 

to the 

That they make all purchases, from Indians for the Crown, of Indians, 
lands not now within the bounds of particular colonies, or that shall 
not be within their bounds when some of them are reduced to more 
convenient dimensions. 

That they make new settlements on such purchases, by granting Powers with 
lands in the King's name, reserving a quitrent to the Crown for the ^^^^p^'^*^ 
use of the general treasury. settlements. 

That they make laws for regulating and governing such new 



34 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Taxes. 



Laws to be 
transmitted 
to England. 



settlements, till the Crown shall think fit to form them into particvilar 
governments. 

That they raise and pay soldiers and build forts for the defence 
of the colonies. . . . 

That for these purposes they have power to make laws, and lay and 
levy such general duties, imposts or taxes, as to them shall appear 
most equal and just. . . . 

That the laws made for the purposes aforesaid shall not be re- 
pugnant, but, as near as may be, agreeable to the laws of England, 
and shall be transmitted to the King in Council for approbation, 
as soon as may be after their passing; and if not disapproved within 
three years after presentation, to remain in force. . . . 



Effect of 
the Revo- 
lution upon 
the move- 
ment to- 
ward union. 



"The United 

States of 

America." 

States ' 

rights 

insisted 

upon. 



15. The states enter a league of friendship ^ 

The Albany Plan of Union was not regarded with great favor by 
the people of the colonies, and was never given serious consideration 
by the English government. But though the project fell through, 
it is important as indicating the trend toward union. It was not 
many years after the Albany convention that the Americans became 
firmly convinced that separation from the mother country was in- 
evitable. The outbreak of actual hostilities between England and 
the colonies obliged the latter to provide some means of marshaUing 
their joint forces against the enemy. As the result of this need, 
the Second Continental Congress in 1777 adopted a constitution 
called the "Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union between 
the States." These articles, of which the most significant foUow, 
went into actual operation on March i, 1781: 

. . . The style of this confederacy shall be "The United States 
of America." 

Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom and independence, 
and every power, jurisdiction and right, which is not by this con- 
federation expressly delegated to the United States, in Congress 
assembled. 

The said states hereby severally enter into a firm league of friend- 
ship with each other, for their common defence, the security of 
* From the Articles of Confederation, 1781. 



DEVELOPMENT OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 35 

their liberties, and their mutual and general welfare, binding them- Purpose of 

selves to assist each other, against all force offered to, or attacks ^^^ Confed- 
eration. 
made upon them, or any of them, on account of religion, sovereignty, 

trade, or any other pretence whatever. 

The better to secure and perpetuate mutual friendship and inter- This clause 

course among the people of the different states in this union, the free *,^^ ^°^ 

always re- 

inhabitants of each of these states (paupers, vagabonds, and fugi- spected by 
fives from justice excepted), shall be entitled to all privileges and ^^^ various 

. . • 1 1 St3.tCS. 

immunities of free citizens in the several states; and the people of 
each state shall have free ingress and regress to and from any other 
state, and shall enjoy therein all the privileges of trade and commerce, 
subject to the same duties, impositions and restrictions as the inhab- 
itants thereof respectively, provided that such restriction shall not 
extend so far as to prevent the removal of property imported into 
any state, to any other state of which the owner is an inhabitant; 
provided also that no imposition, duties or restriction shall be laid 
by any state, on the property of the United States, or either of 
them. . . . 

Full faith and credit shall be given in each of these states to the Full faith 
records, acts and judicial proceedings of the courts and magistrates credit. 

of every other state. 

For the more convenient management of the general interest of There being 

the United States, delegates shall be annually appointed in such "° separate 

-^ '^^ executive or 

manner as the legislature of each state shall direct, to meet in Congress judiciary, 
on the first Monday in November, in every year, with a power re- ^^^ national 

•^ -^ ^ power was 

served to each state, to recall its delegates, or any of them, at any exercised 
time within the year, and to send others in their stead, for the re- ^ *^'^ 

' Congress. 

mainder of the year. 

No state shall be represented in Congress by less than two, nor by 
more than seven members. . . . 

In determining questions in the Umted States, in Congress assem- 
bled, each state shall have one vote. . . . 

No state, without the consent of the United States in Congress The treaty- 
assembled, shall send any embassy to, or receive any embassy from, '"^'^'"8 

power. 

or enter into any conference, agreement, alliance or treaty with any 
king, prince, or state. . . . 
No two or more states shall enter into any treaty, confederation 



36 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Defense. 



This clause 
did not 
give the 
national 
government 
adequate 
powers in 
the raising 
of money. 



Powers 
granted to 
the national 
government. 



or alliance whatever between them, without the consent of the United 
States in Congress assembled, specifying accurately the purposes for 
which the same is to be entered into, and how long it shall continue. 

No state shall lay any imposts or duties, which may interfere with 
any stipulations in treaties, entered into by the United States in 
Congress assembled, with any king, prince, or state, in pursuance of 
any treaties already proposed by Congress, to the courts of France 
and Spain. 

No vessels of war shall be kept up in time of peace by any state, 
except such number only, as shall be deemed necessary by the United 
States in Congress assembled, for the defense of such state, or its 
trade; nor shall any body of forces be kept up by any state, in time 
of peace, except such number only, as in the judgment of the United 
States, in Congress assembled, shall be deemed requisite, . . . but 
every state shall always keep up a weU regulated and disciplined 
mUitia. . . . 

No state shall engage in any war without the consent of the United 
States in Congress assembled, unless such state be actually invaded 
by enemies, or shall have received certain advice of a resolution being 
formed by some nation of Indians to invade such state, and the danger 
is so imminent as not to admit of a delay, till the United States in 
Congress assembled can be consulted. . . . 

All charges of war, and all other expenses that shall be incurred 
for the common defence or welfare, and allowed by the United States 
in Congress assembled, shall be defrayed out of a common treasury, 
which shall be supplied by the several states, in proportion to the 
value of aU land within each state. . . . 

The taxes for paying that proportion shall be laid and levied 
by the authority and direction of the legislatures of the several 
states. . . . 

The United States in Congress assembled shall have the sole and 
exclusive right to determine on peace and war, except in the cases 
mentioned [above]. 

[The United States shall also have the power to enter] into treaties 
and alliances, provided that no treaty of commerce shall be made 
whereby the legislative power of the respective states shall be re- 
strained from imposing such imposts and duties on foreigners, as 



DEVELOPMENT OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 37 

their own people are subjected to, or from prohibiting the exporta- 
tion of any species of goods whatsoever. . . . 

The United States in Congress assembled shall also be the last 
resort on appeal in aU disputes and differences now subsisting or 
that hereafter may arise between two or more states concerning 
boundary, jurisdiction, or any other cause whatever. . . . 

The United States in Congress assembled shall also have the sole 
and exclusive right and power of regulating the alloy and value of 
coin struck by their own authority, or by that of the respective 
states. . . . 

[Further powers of the United States are] establishing and regulat- 
ing post offices . . . throughout the United States, . . . appoint- 
ing all officers of the land forces, in the service of the United States, 
excepting regimental officers; appointing all the officers of the naval 
forces, and commissioning all officers whatever in the service of 
the United States, [as well as] making rules for the government 
and regulation of the said land and naval forces, and directing their 
operations. 

The United States in Congress assembled shall have authority . . . 
to ascertain the necessary sums of money to be raised for the service 
of the United States, and to appropriate and apply the same for 
defraying the public expenses; to borrow money, or emit biUs on the 
credit of the United States . . . ; to build and equip a navy; to agree 
upon the number of land forces, and to make requisitions from each 
state for its quota. . . . 

Every state shall abide by the determinations of the United The rela- 
States in Congress assembled, on all questions which by this confed- ^^^^ °^ ^^^ 
eration are submitted to them. And the articles of this confederation the national 
shall be inviolably observed by every state, and the union shall government, 
be perpetual. 

Nor shall any alteration at any time hereafter be made in any Amendment. 
of [the articles], unless such alteration be agreed to in a Congress of 
the United States, and be afterwards confirmed by the legislatures 
of every state. . . . 



38 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Weakness 
of the 
Confed- 
eration 
government. 



Importance 
of the pe- 
riod follow- 
ing the 
Revolution- 
ary war. 



Four things 
which are 
essential to 
the well- 
being of 
the nation. 



16. Washington outlines the needs of the country ^ 

The Confederation government functioned feebly during the last 
two years of the Revolutionary War, and then declined rapidly in 
power and influence. Very soon after the cessation of actual hostili- 
ties it was clear to many far-sighted American statesmen that the 
Articles of Confederation could not carry the young nation through 
the period of adjustment following the war. No one saw this more 
clearly than Washington. On the 8th of June, 1783, he issued his 
famous " Circular letter addressed to the Governors of aU the states 
on disbanding the army," in which he directed attention to the needs 
of the nation. Some extracts from this letter follow: 

. . . This is the time of . . . [the] political probation [of the 
United States]; this is the moment when the eyes of the whole world 
are turned upon them; this is the moment to establish or ruin their 
national character forever; this is the favorable moment to give 
such a tone to our Federal government, as will enable it to answer 
the ends of its institution, or this may be the iU-fated moment for 
relaxing the powers of the Union, annihilating the cement of the 
confederation, and exposing us to become the sport of European 
politics. . . . 

For, according to the system of policy the states shall adopt at 
this moment, they will stand or faU; and by their confirmation or 
lapse it is yet to be decided, whether the revolution must ultimately 
be considered as a blessing or a curse. . . . 

With this conviction of the importance of the present crisis, silence 
in me would be a crime. . . . 

There are four things, which, I humbly conceive, are essential to 
the well-being, I may even venture to say, to the existence of the 
United States, as an independent power. 

First, An indissoluble union of the states under one Federal head. 

Second, A sacred regard to pubHc justice. 

Third, The adoption of a proper peace estabhshment; and 

Fourth, The prevalence of that pacific and friendly disposition 
among the people of the United States, which will induce them to 

1 From George Washington, Circular letter addressed to the Governors of all the 
states on disbanding the army, 1783. 



DEVELOPMENT OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 39 

forget their local prejudices and policies; to make those mutual 
concessions, which are requisite to the general prosperity; and, in 
some instances, to sacrifice their individual advantages to the interest 
of the community. ... 

On the three first articles I wiU make a few observations, leaving 
the last to the good sense and serious consideration of those immedi- 
ately concerned. 

Under the first head ... it will be a part of my duty, and that A prediction, 
of every true patriot, to assert without reserve, and to insist upon, 
the following positions. That, unless the states will suffer Congress 
to exercise those prerogatives they are undoubtedly invested with 
by the constitution, everything must very rapidly tend to anarchy 
and confusion. 

That it is indispensable to the happiness of the individual states, 
that there should be lodged somewhere a supreme power to regulate 
and govern the general concerns of the confederated repubUc, without 
which the Union cannot be of long duration. . . . 

17. Hamilton summarizes the defects of the Confederation ^ 

Washington's belief that the Articles of Confederation were seriously Hamilton 
defective was shared by a number of other American statesmen. Of , , 

■' _ need of 

these none was more conscious of the need of a strong national govern- a strong 

ment than iVlexander Hamilton. This brilliant young lawyer, later 

the first Secretary of the Treasury, summarized the defects of the 

Confederation government in the following terms: 

Firstly, and generally, [the Articles are defective] in confining the Federal 

power of the Federal government within too narrow Umits; withhold- go^'ernment 

unduly re- 

ing from it that efficacious authority and influence, in all matters stricted. 
of general concern, which are indispensable to the harmony and 
welfare of the whole. ... 

Secondly: In confounding legislative and executive powers in Legislative 
a single body: as, that of determining on the number and quantity ^?^ execu- 

^ "^ tive powers 

of force, land and naval, to be employed for the common defence, confounded, 
and of directing their operations when raised and equipped, with 

1 From Alexander Hamilton, Works. (Adapted slightly, in order to simplify the 
style. — Editor.) 



national 
government. 



40 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Lack of a 

Federal 

judiciary. 



Inadequate 
powers with 
respect to 
taxation. 



National 
credit not 
assured. 



Powers of 

defense 

inadequate. 



that of ascertaining and making requisitions for the necessary sums 
or quantities of money to be paid by the respective states into the 
common treasury. [This is] contrary to the most approved and 
well-founded maxims of free government, which require that the 
legislative, executive, and judicial authorities should be deposited 
in distinct and separate hands. 

Thirdly: [The lack] of a Federal judiciary, having cognizance of 
all matters of general concern in the last resort, especially those 
matters in which foreign nations and their subjects are interested. 
[Because of this lack] the local regulations of particular states 
miUtate directly or indirectly against the powers vested in the Union, 
[so that] the national treaties will be hable to be infringed, the 
national faith to be violated, and the public tranquilhty to be 
disturbed. 

Fourthly: [The Articles vest the United States in Congress as- 
sembled with the power of general taxation, but render this essential 
power nuU and void] by withholding from the United States all 
control over both the imposition or the collection of taxes. . . . 
Whence it happens that the inclinations, not the abihties, of the 
respective states are, in fact, the criterion of their contributions to 
the common expense; and the public burden has fallen, and will 
continue to fall, with very unequal weight. 

Fifthly: [The Articles are defective] in fixing a rule for determin- 
ing the proportion of each state toward the common expense, which 
if practicable at all, must, in the execution, be attended with great 
expense, inequality, uncertainty and difficulty. 

Sixthly: [The Articles are defective] in authorizing Congress 
"to borrow money, or emit bills on the credit of the United States," 
without the power of establishing funds to secure the repayment of 
the money borrowed, or the redemption of the bills emitted. From 
which must result one of these evils: either a want of sufficient 
credit, in the first instance, to borrow, or to circulate the bUls 
emitted, ... or, in the second instance, [the inability of the gov- 
ernment to keep its engagements.] . . . 

Seventhly: [The Articles are defective] in not making proper or 
competent provisions for interior defense, since the control of the 
land forces is so largely left to the individual states that there 



Di;VELOPMENT OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 41 

results great confusion in the military department. . . . Also in 
not making proper or competent provisions for external defense, 
since the Articles authorize Congress to "build and equip a navy" 
without providing any means of manning it [except by] voluntary 
enHstment, a resource which has been found ineffectual in every 
country, and, for reasons of pecuhar force, in this. 

Eighthly: [The Articles are defective] in not vesting in the United Congress 
States a general superintendence of trade, equally necessary in ^"^^*.f° 
view of revenue and regulation. [Revenue duties] cannot, without power to ■ 
great disadvantages, be imposed by particular states whUe others ^'^sulate 
refrain from doing it, but must be imposed in concert, . . . other- 
wise those states which should not impose them would engross the 
commerce of such of their neighbors as did. The regulation of trade 
by the United States government, rather than by the states indi- 
vidually, is necessary in order to prevent individual states from inter- 
fering with commercial treaties which the United States has made 
with foreign nations. ... 

Ninthly: [The Articles are defective] in defeating essential powers inconsist- 

by provisions and limitations which are inconsistent with their ^^'^ m the 

•^ ^ _ grant of 

nature. . . . For example. Congress is given the power " of regulating essential 

the trade and managing all affairs with the Indians, not members P^^^^s. 

of any of the states, provided that the legislative right of any state, 

within its own limits, be not infringed or violated." . . . 

Tenthly: [The Articles are defective] in granting the United Regulation 

States the sole power "of regulating the alloy and value of coin "^ ^^^ 

•' currency, 

struck by their own authority or by that of the respective states," 

without the power of regulating the foreign coin in circulation, though 

the one [power] is essential to the due exercise of the other. . . . 

Eleventhly: [The Articles are defective] in requiring the assent Power of 

of nine states to matters of principal importance, and of seven . . 

•^ ^ ^ ^ minority 

to all others, except adjournments from day to day. [This rule is] too great, 
destructive of vigor, consistency, or expedition in the administration 
of affairs. It tends to subject the sense of the majority to that of 
the minority by allowing a small combination to retard, and even 
to frustrate, the most necessary measures. . . . 

Twelfthly: [The Articles are defective] in investing the Federal 
government with the sole direction of the interests of the United 



42 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Inadequate 
control of 
foreign 
affairs. 



States in their intercourse with foreign nations, without empower- 
ing it to pass all general laws in aid and support of the laws of na- 
tions. . , . [Because of the lack of this authority], the faith of the 
United States may be broken, their reputation sullied, and their 
peace interrupted by the neghgence or misconception of any par- 
ticular state. . . . 



The Consti- 
tutional 
Convention 
of 1787. 



Franklin's 
speech to 
the 
delegates. 



He agrees 
to the 
Constitu- 
tion. 



18. Franklin calls for the ratification of the Constitution 

At length the agitation in favor of a stronger union bore fruit, and 
in 1787 delegates from every state except Rhode Island gathered 
in Philadelphia "to devise such further provisions as shall appear 
to them necessary to render the Constitution of the Federal gov- 
ernment adequate to the exigencies of the Union." The convention 
sat in secret session from May to September, with Washington in 
the chair as moderator. After extended debates and numerous 
compromises our present Constitution was formulated and drawn up. 
When the engrossed Constitution had been read, the delegates to the 
convention Ustened to this speech by Benjamin Frankhn: 

Mr. President: I confess that there are several parts of this Con- 
stitution which I do not at present approve, but I am not sure that 
I shall never approve them. For, having lived long, I have experi- 
enced many instances of being obliged by better information, or 
fuller consideration, to change opinions, even on important subjects, 
which I once thought right but found to be otherwise. 

It is therefore that, the older I grow, the more apt I am to doubt 
my own judgment, and to pay more respect to the judgment of others. 
Most men, indeed, as well as most sects in religion, think them- 
selves in possession of all truth, and that wherever others differ 
from them, it is so far error. ... 

In these sentiments, sir, I agree to this Constitution, with all its 
fatilts, if they are such; because I think a general government nec- 
essary for us, and there is no form of government, but what may be 
a blessing to the people if well administered; and believe further 
that this is likely to be well administered for a course of years, and 

1 From Jonathan Elliot, Debates on the adoption of the Federal Constitution, etc. 
Philadelphia, 1881- Vol. v, pp. SS4-SSS- 



DEVELOPMENT OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 43 

can only end in despotism, as other forms have done before it, when 
the people shall become so corrupted as to need despotic govern- 
ment, being incapable of any other. 

I doubt, too, whether any other convention we can obtain may be Can a per- 

able to make a better constitution. For when you assemble a number l?} ^P'^' , 

•' stitution be 

of men to have the advantage of their joint wisdom, you inevitably expected? 
assemble with those men all their prejudices, their passions, their 
errors of opinion, their local interests and their selfish views. From 
such an assembly can a perfect production be expected? It therefore 
astonishes me, sir, to find this system approaching so near to per- 
fection as it does; and I think it will astonish our enemies, who are 
waiting with confidence to hear that our councils are confounded, . . . 
and that our states are on the point of separation, only to meet here- 
after for the purpose of cutting one another's throats. 

Thus I consent, sir, to this Constitution, because I expect no better, He pleads 
and because I am not sure that it is not the best. The opinions I '^^ ^ ^ 

^ support of 

have had of its errors I sacrifice to the public good. ... If every one the Con- 

of us, in returning to our constituents, were to report the objections ^t^t"*^°°' 

he has had to it, and endeavor to gain partisans in support of them, 

we might prevent its being generally received. ... I hope, therefore, 

that for our own sakes as a part of the people, and for the sake of 

posterity, we shall act heartily and unanimously in recommending 

this Constitution . . . wherever our influence may extend, and turn 

our future thoughts and endeavors to the means of having it well 

administered. 

On the whole, sir, I cannot help expressing a wish that every mem- and asks 

ber of the convention who may still have objections to it, would with j'^f* ^^^ 

delegates 

me, on this occasion, doubt a Httle of his own infallibility, and, to sign it. 
make manifest our unanimity, put his name to this instrument. 



Questions on the foregoing Readings 

What is meant by the statement that political development in 
early America proceeded along two lines at the same time? 

In what year did the first definite confederation of the colonies 
occur? 

What was the purpose of this confederation? 



44 READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 

4. How was this confederation to be governed? 

5. Who drew up the plan of union considered by the Albany Congress 

of 1754? 

6. What was the nature of the Grand Council proposed by this plan? 

7. What provision was made for the meetings of this Council? 

8. Outline the powers of the President- General and the Grand Council 

with respect to Indian relations. 

9. What provision did the Albany plan make for the levying of taxes? 

10. What did the Albany plan say about the transmission of laws to 

England? 

11. Why did the states enter a " firm league of friendship " in 1781? 

12. What did the Articles of Confederation say concerning state 

sovereignty? 

13. What was the nature of the Congress created by the Articles? 

14. What were some of the powers expressly granted the national 

government? 

15. What provision was made for the amendment of the Articles? 

16. What was Washington's opinion of the position of the United 

States immediately following the Revolution? 

17. What four things did he hold essential to the well-being of the 

nation? 

18. What was Hamilton's first objection to the Articles of Confed- 

eration? 

19. What did he say concerning the failure of the Articles to provide 

for a Federal judiciary? 

20. In what way were the powers of the Confederation Congress 

defective with respect to taxation? 

21. What did Hamilton say concerning the undue power of the mi- 

nority under the Articles of Confederation? 

22. What was the defect of the Articles with respect to foreign affairs? 

23. For what purpose was the Constitutional Convention of 1787 

convened? 

24. Why did Franklin accept the new Constitution? 

25. Why did he ask that all of the members of the Constitutional 

Convention recommend the Constitution wherever their influ- 
ence extended? 



CHAPTER IV 

ESSENTIALS OF AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONAL 
GOVERNMENT 

19. Individual rights under the Federal Constitution ^ 

Having been ratified by the requisite number of states, the Federal The objec- 
Constitution was set to work on April 30, 1789, with George Wash- ^^^^q ^^^■ 
ington as first President of the United States. The Constitution as tution did 
submitted to the people in 1787 contained several specific guarantees "° \^' 
of personal liberty, but many people objected that these did not tect in- 
adequately protect the rights of the individual against governmental j/^!*"^ 
oppression. In some states members of the legislature voted for 
the new Constitution with the understanding that additional guaran- 
tees of personal Hberty would at once be appended to the Constitution. 
This was done in 1791, when a number of amendments were adopted 
in a body. At the present time the following are the chief guarantees 
of personal rights which are contained in the Federal Constitution 
and the amendments thereto: 

Art. IV. Sect. II. The citizens of each state shall be entitled to Privileges 
all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several states. ... ^" ^"^^^' 

^ ° mties. 

Art. I. Sect. IX. . . . The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus jjabeas 
shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion corpus, etc. 
the pubhc safety may require it. 

No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed. . . . 

Amendment I. Congress shall make no law respecting an estab- Freedom of 
lishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; orabridg- ^"^^^8^°"' 
ing the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people the press, 
peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a re- 
dress of grievances. 

Amendment II. A well regulated militia, being necessary to the Right to 

security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear ^^^ ^"^ 

DCS-F ^rrns> 

arms, shall not be infringed. 

' From the Constitution of the United States. 
45 



46 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



The quar- 
tering of 
soldiers. 

The regula- 
tion of 
search and 
seizure. 



The pro- 
tection of 
Hfe, liberty, 
and prop- 
erty. 



Protection 
in criminal 
prose- 
cutions. 



Suits at 
common 
law. 



Bail and 
punish- 
ments. 
Rights re- 
tained by 
the people. 



Amendment III. No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered 
in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, 
but in a manner to be prescribed by law. 

Amendment IV. The right of the people to be secure in their 
persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches 
and seizures, shaU not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but 
upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and par- 
ticularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or 
things to be seized. 

Amendment V. No person shaU be held to answer for a capital, 
or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment 
of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, 
or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or pubhc 
danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be 
twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shaU be compelled in any 
criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of 
life, Uberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private 
property be taken for public use without just compensation. 

Amendment VI. In all criminal prosecutions the accused shall 
enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of 
the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, 
which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and 
to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be con- 
fronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process 
for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of 
counsel for his defense. 

Amendment VII. In suits at common law, where the value in con- 
troversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall 
be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise reexamined 
in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the 
common law. 

Amendment VIII. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor ex- 
cessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. 

Amendment IX. The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain 
rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained 
by the people. 



AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT 47 

20. States' rights under the Federal Constitution ^ 

Some of the bitterest and most protracted debates in the Con- States' 

stitutional Convention of 1787 hinged upon the status of the states "^^*-^ *^f 

, , source of 

in the proposed union. Reahzing that a chief weakness of the old extended 
Confederation government had been the inadequacy of the powers ^^ }? ^" • 
granted to the Congress, many delegates insisted that the powers tutional 
of the national government be markedly increased. Fearing that Convention 
a marked increase in the powers of the national government would 
endanger the position of the individual states, other delegates in- 
sisted that the constitution under debate allow the states to re- 
tain most essential powers. The result was a compromise: a strong 
national government was created, but states' rights were safe- 
guarded. The following are the chief constitutional provisions which 
safeguard states' rights, either by imposing limitations upon the 
Federal government, or by the Federal guarantee of certain rights 
to the states, or by the Federal regulation of interstate relations: 

Art. I. Sect. IX. ... No capitation or other direct tax shall be Powers 
laid, unless in proportion to the census or enumeration hereinbefore '^^^^^^ }'^ 

the Federal 

directed to be taken.^ government. 

No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any state. 

No preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce or 
revenue to the ports of one state over those of another; nor shall 
vessels bound to or from one state be obliged to enter, clear, or pay 
duties in another. 

No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in consequence of 
appropriations made by law; and a regular statement and account 
of the receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be published 
from time to time. . . . 

Art. IV. Sect. I. Full faith and credit shall be given in each state Interstate 
to the public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other relations. 
state. And the Congress may by general laws prescribe the manner 
in which such acts, records, and proceedings shall be proved, and the 
effect thereof. 

■ From the Constitution of the United States. 

2 The Sixteenth Amendment exempts the Federal income tax from the operation 
of this provision. 



48 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Federal 
guarantees 
to the 
states. 



Residual 
powers of 
the states. 



Art. IV. Sect. V. The citizens of each state shall be entitled to 
all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several states. 

A person charged in any state with treason, felony, or other crime, 
who shall flee from justice, and be found in another state, shall on 
demand of the executive authority of the state from which he fled, 
be delivered up to be removed to the state having jurisdiction of 
the crime. 

No person held to service or labor in one state, under the laws 
thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or 
regulation therein, be discharged from such service or labor, but 
shall be deUvered up on claim of the party to whom such service or 
labor may be due. 

Art. IV. Sect. IV. The United States shall guarantee to every 
state in this Union a repubhcan form of government, and shall 
protect each of them against invasion, and on application of the 
legislature, or of the executive (when the legislature cannot be 
convened), against domestic violence. 

Amendment X. The powers not delegated to the United States 
by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved 
to the states respectively, or to the people. 



The Consti- 
tution like- 
wise in- 
sures a 
strong 
Federal 
government. 



Powers 
denied to 
the states. 



21. The powers of the Federal government^ 

But though the Federal Constitution contains numerous provisions 
designed to safeguard the rights of the states, that document also 
provides for a strong national government. Two types of constitu- 
tional provisions operate to give the Federal government adequate 
powers: first, those provisions which limit the action of the states 
in behalf of the national government; and second, those provisions 
which grant express powers to the Federal authorities. The follow- 
ing are the constitutional clauses which constitute these bases of 
Federal authority: 

Art. I. Sect. X. No state shall enter into any treaty, alliance, 

or confederation; grant letters of marque and reprisal; coin money; 

emit bills of credit; make anything but gold and silver coin a tender 

in payment of debts; pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, 

1 From the Constitution oj the United States. 



AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT 49 

or law impairing the obligation of contracts, or grant any title of 
nobility. 

No state shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any imposts 
or duties on imports or exports, except what may be absolutely neces- 
sary for executing its inspection laws: and the net produce of all 
duties and imposts laid by any state on imports or exports, shall 
be for the use of the treasury of the United States; and all 
such laws shall be subject to the revision and control of the 
Congress. 

No state shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any duty of 
tonnage, keep troops, or ships of war in time of peace, enter into any 
agreement or compact with another state, or with a foreign power, 
or engage in war, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent danger 
as will not admit of delay. 

Art. I. Sect. VIII. The Congress shall have power to lay and col- Powers 

lect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide granted to 

Congress. 
for the common defense and general welfare of the United States; 

but all duties, imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout 

the United States; 

To borrow money on the credit of the United States; 

To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several 
states, and with the Indian tribes; 

To establish an uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws 
on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States; 

To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, 
and fix the standard of weights and measures; 

To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities 
and current coin of the United States; 

To establish post offices and post roads; 

To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing 
for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to 
their respective writings and discoveries; 

To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court; 

To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high 
seas, and offenses against the law of nations; 

To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make 
rules concerning captures on land and water; 



^o 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to 
that use shall be for a longer term than two years; 

To provide and maintain a navy; 

To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and 
naval forces; 

To provide for calling forth the mihtia to execute the laws of the 
Union, suppress insurrections and repel invasions; 

To provide for organizing, arming, and discipUning the mihtia, 
and for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service 
of the United States, reserving to the states respectively the appoint- 
ment of the ofi&cers, and the authority of training the mihtia according 
to the disciphne prescr bed by Congress; 

To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever, over such 
district (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of par- 
ticular states, and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of 
the government of the United States, and to exercise Uke authority 
over aU places purchased by the consent of the legislature of the 
state in which the same shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, 
arsenals, dockyards, and other needful buildings; and 

To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying 
into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by 
this Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any 
department or officer thereof. 

Art. II. Sect. II. The President shall be commander in chief of 
the army and navy of the United States, and of the mihtia of the 
several states, when called into the actual service of the United States; 
he may require the opinion, in writing, of the principal oflficer in each 
of the executive departments, upon any subject relating to the duties 
of their respective offices, and he shall have power to grant reprieves 
and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases 
of impeachment. 

He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the 
Senate, to make treaties, provided two thirds of the senators present 
concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the advice and 
consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other public 
ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other 
ofiicers of the United States, whose appointments are not herein 



AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT 51 

otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by law: but 
the Congress may by law vest the appointment of such inferior 
officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the courts 
of law, or in the heads of departments. 

The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may 
happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions 
which shall expire at the end of their next session. 

Art. IV. Sect. III. New states may be admitted by the Congress Power over 

into this Union; but no new state shall be formed or erected within '^T f'^^^^ 

and tern- 

the jurisdiction of any other state; nor any state be formed by the tories. 
junction of two or more states, or parts of states, without the 
consent of the legislatures of the states concerned as well as of 
the Congress. 

The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful 
rules and regulations respecting the territory or other property 
belonging to the United States; and nothing in this Constitution 
shall be so construed as to prejudice any claims of the United States, 
or of any particular state. 

Amendment XVI. The Congress shall have power to lay and Power with 

collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without ^ *^'^™^'^ 
' ' to an 

apportionment among the several states, and without regard to income tax. 
any census or enumeration. 



22. The extent of Federal powers ^ 

Students of American government have generally divided into Strict 
two groups over the qU'CStion of Federal powers. One group has Z^^^^, 
contended that since the Federal government is one of enumerated struction of 
powers, the Federal government may exercise no power not expressly ^ ^. ^^"'^s*^'" 
granted by the Constitution. This view has been called the "strict 
construction" of the Constitution. .The second group has contended 
that the Federal government possesses not only the powers expressly 
granted in the Constitution, but also those which are included within, 
or necessarily implied from, powers expressly granted. The Supreme 
Court has inclined toward this liberal interpretation of the Constitu- 

' From the United States Supreme Court decision in the case of M'Culloch 
vs. the State of Maryland, 18 19. 



52 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Vital im- 
portance of 
the issue. 



The Federal 
government 
should be 
allowed to 
select the 
means nec- 
essary to 
carry into 
effect 
powers 
granted to 
it by the 
Constitution. 



Maryland 
contends 
for a 
dangerous 
principle. 



Limits of 
the power 
of the 
states 
to tax. 



tion. In 1819, for example, the Court upheld the liberal construc- 
tion of the Constitution in the celebrated case of M'CuUoch vs. the 
State of Maryland. The following are some extracts from the de- 
cision in this case: 

... In the case now to be determined, the defendant, a sov- 
ereign state, denies the obligation of a law enacted by the legislature 
of the Union; and the plaintiff, on his part, contests the vaUdity 
of an act which has been pas ed by the legislature of that state. 
The Constitution of our country, in its most interesting and vital 
parts, is to be considered; the conflicting powers of the government 
of the Union and its members, as marked in that Constitution, are 
to be discussed; and an opinion given, which may essentially 
influence the great operations of the government. . . . 

We admit, as all must admit, that the powers of the government 
are limited, and that its Hmits are not to be transcended. But we 
think the sound construction of the Constitution must allow to the 
national legislature that discretion, with respect to the means by 
which the powers it confers are to be carried into execution, which 
will enable that body to perform the high duties assigned to it, in 
the manner most beneficial to the people. Let the end be legitimate, 
let it be within the scope of the Constitution, and all means which 
are appropriate, which are plainly adapted to that end, which are 
not prohibited, but consist with the letter and spirit of the Consti- 
tution, are constitutional. . . . 

If we apply the principle for which the state of Maryland contends, 
to the Constitution generally, we shall find it capable of changing 
totally the character of that instrument. We shall find it capable 
of arresting all the measures of the government, and of prostrating 
it at the foot of the states. The American people haye declared 
their Constitution, and the laws made in pursuance thereof, to be 
supreme; but this principle would transfer the supremacy, in fact, 
to the states. 

If the states may tax one instrument, employed by the govern- 
ment in the execution of its powers, they may tax any and every 
instrument. They may tax the mail; they may tax the mint; they 
may tax patent rights; they may tax the papers of the custom- 
house; they may tax judicial process; they may tax all the means 



AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT 53 

employed by the government, to an excess which would defeat all the 

ends of government. This was not intended by the American people. 

They did not design to make their government dependent on the 

states. . . . 

The court has bestowed on this subject its most deliberate consid- The 

eration. The result is a conviction that the states have no power, "'^ainjmous 

decision of 
by taxation or otherwise, to retard, impede, burden, or in any manner the court. 

control, the operations of the constitutional laws enacted by Con- 
gress to carry into execution the powers vested in the general gov- 
ernment. This is, we think, the unavoidable consequence of that 
supremacy which the Constitution has declared. 

We are unanimously of opinion, that the law passed by the legis- 
lature of Maryland, imposing a tax on the Bank of the United States, 
is unconstitutional and void. . . . 



23. The check and balance system ^ 

But despite the supremacy of Federal law, it is not possible for The check 

the National government to become despotic. As we have seen, ^°*^ balance 

' system in 
certain rights of both individuals and states are specifically safe- the Federal 

guarded by the Constitution itself. In addition, the powers of the government. 
Federal government are so divided among the legislative, executive, 
and judicial departments that each of these constitutes a check upon 
the other two. The nature of this check and balance system was 
early described by James Madison, writing in the Federalist. When 
the Federal Constitution came before the people of New York for 
ratification or rejection, some of the citizens of that state objected 
that the new Constitution did not adequately provide for the separa- 
tion of the legislative, executive, and judicial departments in the 
Federal government, so that, as the Constitution stood, some one 
department might acquire an undue amount of power. Madison Madison 
answered this objection in the Federalist in January, 1788, and ^^'^"^'J^ t"^ 
attempted to show that this objection was not vaUd. Early in Feb- tution. 
ruary, 1788, he continues his discussion of the check and balance 
system in the following language: 

1 From the Federalist, Numbers 48 (47) and 51 (50). 



54 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



The prob- 
lem of 
guarding 
each depart- 
ment 
against 
invasion 
by the 
others. 



The 
solution. 



Separation 
of appoint- 
ing powers. 



Financial 
independ- 
ence. 



... It is agreed, on all sides, that the powers properly belong- 
ing to one of the departments [of the Federal government] ought 
not to be directly and completely administered by either of the 
other departments. It is equally evident that none of them ought 
to possess, directly or indirectly, an over-ruUng influence over the 
others, in the administration of their respective powers. It will not 
be denied that power is of an encroaching nature, and that it ought 
to be effectually restrained from passing the limits assigned to it. 
After discriminating, therefore, in theory, the several classes of 
power, as they may in their nature be legislative, executive or judicial, 
the next and most difi&cult task is to provide some practical security 
for each against the invasion of the others. . . . 

To what expedient, then, shaU we finally resort, for maintaining 
in practice the necessary partition of power among the several de- 
partments, as laid down in the Constitution? The only answer that 
can be given is that ... the defect must be supplied, by so con- 
triving the interior structure of the government, as that its several 
constituent parts may ... be the means of keeping each other in 
their proper places. Without presuming to undertake a full develop- 
ment of this important idea, I will hazard a few general observations, 
which may perhaps place it in a clearer light, and enable us to form 
a more correct judgment of the principles and structure of the gov- 
ernment planned by the [Constitutional] Convention. 

In order to lay a due foundation for that separate and distinct 
exercise of the different powers of government, which to a certain 
extent is admitted on all hands to be essential to the preservation 
of liberty, it is evident that each department should have a will 
of its own, and consequently should be so constituted that the mem- 
bers of each should have as Httle agency as possible in the appoint- 
ment of the members of the others. . . . 

It is equally evident that the members of each department should 
be as Uttle dependent as possible on those of the others for the emolu- 
ments annexed to their offices. Were the executive magistrate, 
or the judges, not independent of the legislature in this particular, 
their independence in every other would be merely nominal. 

But the great security against a gradual concentration of the 
several powers in the same department consists in giving to those 



AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT 55 

who administer each department the necessary constitutional means 
and personal motives to resist encroachments of the others. . . . 

It may be a reflection on human nature that such devices should why checks 
be necessary to control the abuses of government. But what is ^'^^ ^^'" 

. ances are 

government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? necessary. 
If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels 
were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on govern- 
ment would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be 
administered by men over men, the great difliculty lies in this: you 
must first enable the government to control the governed; and in 
the next place obHge it to control itself. . . . 

This pohcy of supplying, by opposite and rival interests, the Universal 
defect of better motives, might be traced through the whole sys- 'ifture 

of the 

tem of human aflfairs, private as well as public. We see it particularly principle, 
displayed in all the subordinate distributions of power, where the 
constant aim is to divide and arrange the several ofiices in such a 
manner as that each may be a check on the other — that the private 
interest of every individual may be a sentinel over the pubhc rights. 
These inventions of prudence cannot be less requisite in the distri- 
bution of the supreme powers of the State. . . . 
In a single repubUc, all the power surrendered by the people is The 

submitted to the administration of a single government; and the "shts of 

the people 
usurpations are guarded against by a division of the government doubly 

into distinct and separate departments. In the compound repubhc ^^'^^'■^• 
of America, the power surrendered by the people is first divided be- 
tween two distinct governments [the state and Federal governments], 
and then the portion allotted to each is subdivided among distinct 
and separate departments. Hence a double security arises to the 
rights of the people. The different governments will control each 
other, at the same time that each will be controlled by itself. . . . 



24. Significance of the judiciary in American government ^ 

Section I of Article iii of the Constitution vests the judicial power 
of the United States in one Supreme Court and in such inferior 

1 From the United States Supreme Court decision in the case of Marbury vs. 
Madison, 1803. 



56 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Power of 
the Su- 
preme 
Court to 
pass upon 
the consti- 
tutionality 
of Federal 
statutes. 



Right of 
the people 
to establish 
their 
government. 



The Consti- 
tution is 
either 
paramount 
or it is not. 



courts as Congress may from time to time ordain and establish, 
while Section il of Article iii defines the jurisdiction of the Federal 
courts. Nowhere does the Federal Constitution expressly confer 
upon the Supreme Court of the United States the power of declar- 
ing statutes invalid on the ground that they are contrary to the 
Constitution, nevertheless our Supreme Court exercises this power. 
Indeed, one of the distinctive features of American government 
is the right of this tribunal to act as the final and authoritative in- 
terpreter of the Constitution. This right was first asserted by Chief 
Justice Marshall in 1803 in the case of Marbury vs. Madison. The 
following is an extract from the decision in this case: 

. . . That the people have an original right to estabUsh, for their 
future government, such principles as, in their opinion, shall most 
conduce to their own happiness, is the basis on which the whole 
American fabric has been erected. . . . The principles, therefore, 
so established are deemed fundamental. And as the authority from 
which they proceed is supreme, and can seldom act, they are designed 
to be permanent. This original and supreme will organizes the 
government, and assigns to different departments their respective 
powers. It may either stop here, or estabhsh certain limits not to 
be transcended by those departments. 

The government of the United States is of the latter description. 
The powers of the legislature are defined and limited; and that those 
limits may not be mistaken, or forgotten, the Constitution is 
written. ... 

The distinction between a government with limited and unlimited 
powers is abolished, if those limits do not confine "the persons on 
whom they are imposed, and if acts prohibited and acts allowed 
are of equal obligation. It is a proposition too plain to be contested, 
that the Constitution controls any legislative Act repugnant to it; 
or that the legislature may alter the Constitution by an ordinary Act. 

Between these alternatives there is no middle ground. The Con- 
stitution is either a superior paramount law, unchangeable by or- 
dinary means, or it is on a level with ordinary legislative Acts, and; 
like other Acts, is alterable when the legislature shall please to alter 
it. If the former part of the alternative be true, then a legislative 
Act contrary to the Constitution is not law; if the latter part be 



AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT 57 

true, then written constitutions are absurd attempts, on the part 

of the people, to limit a power in its own nature illimitable. 

Certainly all those who have framed written constitutions con- a written 

template them as forming the fundamental and paramount law po"stitution 

IS funda- 
of the nation, and, consequently, the theory of every such govern- mental. 

ment must be, that an Act of the legislature, repugnant to the Con- 
stitution, is void. . . . 
It is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial depart- The duty 

ment to say what the law is. Those who apply the rule to particular *^^ ^^^ ^^""^ 

when a law 
cases, must of necessity expound and interpret that rule. If two is in opposi- 

laws conflict with each other, the courts must decide on the opera- *'°" ^? *^^ 

o -r 1 1 • • • Consti- 

tion of each, bo if a law be in opposition to the Constitution; if tution. 

both the law and the Constitution apply to a particular case, so that 
the court must decide that case conformably to the law, disregard- 
ing the Constitution, or conformably to the Constitution, disre- 
garding the law, the court must determine which of these conflicting 
rules governs the case. This is of the very essence of judicial duty. 
If, then, the courts are to regard the Constitution, and the Con- 
stitution is superior to any ordinary Act of the legislature, the Con- 
stitution, and not such ordinary Act, must govern the case to which 
they both apply. . . . 

It is apparent, [from illustrations contained in the full decision Since 

of the case], that the framers of the Constitution contemplated that Judges take 

an oath to 
instrument as a rule for the government of the courts, as well as support the 

of the legislature. Why otherwise does it direct the judges to take Constitu- 
tion their 
an oath to support it? . . . How immoral to impose it on them, conduct 

if they were to be used as the instruments, and the knowing instiu- ^^^^ ^^ 

. governed by 

ments, for violating what they swear to support ! The oath of office, that 

too, imposed by the legislature, is completely demonstrative of the document. 

legislative opinion on this subject. 

It is in these words: "I do solemnly swear that I will administer The oath. 

justice without respect to persons, and do equal right to the poor 

and to the rich; and that I will faithfidly and impartially discharge 

all the duties incumbent on me as . . . according to the best of 

my abilities and understanding, agreeably to the Constitution and 

laws of the United States." Why does a judge swear to discharge 

his duties agreeable to the Constitution of the United States, if that 



58 READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 

Constitution forms no rules for his government — if it is dosed upon 
him, and cannot be inspected by him? If such be the real state of 
things, this is worse than solemn mockery. To prescribe, or to 
take this oath, becomes equally a crime. . . . 



Questions on the foregoing Readings 

1. What was an important obstacle to the ratification of the Con- 

stitution? 

2. How was this objection met? 

3. What are the guarantees of personal liberty contained in 

Section rx of Article i of the Constitution? 

4. Outline the guarantees of personal liberty contained in the first 

nine amendments to the Constitution. 

5. What controversy took place in the Constitutional Convention 

of 1787 over states* rights? 

6. How was the dispute settled? 

7. OutUne the powers denied to the United States by the Federal 

Constitution, 

8. What does the Federal Constitution say concerning interstate 

relations? 

9. What guarantee to the states is contained in Section iv of 

Article iv of the Constitution? 

10. What two types of provisions in the Constitution were designed 

to strengthen the position of the National government? 

11. What powers are denied to the states by the Constitution? 

12. Enumerate the chief powers of Congress as laid down in the 

Constitution. 

13. What are the constitutional powers of the President of the United 

States? 

14. What power does the Federal government exercise with respect 

to new states and territories? 

15. Distinguish between the strict and the liberal interpretations of 

the Federal Constitution. 

16. What is the importance of the decision in the case of M'Culloch 

vs. the State of Maryland? 

17. What was the issue in this case? 

18. What was the decision of the court in this case? 

19. What part did James Madison play in the contest over the rati- 

fication of the Constitution? 

20. What, according to Madison, was the difficulty of protecting the 

three Federal departments against one another? 



AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT 59 

21. What was his proposed solution of this problem? 

22. Why are checks and balances necessary in government? 

23. How, according to Madison, does American constitutional govern- 

ment render the rights of the people doubly secure? 

24. What is the significance of the decision of the Supreme Court in 

the case of Marbtiry vs. Madison? 

25. Outline the decision of the court in this case. 



CHAPTER V 



THE PROBLEMS OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



New prob- 
lems arise 
to confront 
the young 
American 
nation. 



Washington 
believes it 
his duty to 
make cer- 
tain recom- 
mendations 
to the 
American 
people. 



25. Washington's charge to the nation ^ 

When, on April 30, 1789, the Federal Constitution was put into 
operation with George Washington as first President, the United 
States of America took on a new lease of Hfe. But though the trials 
of the "critical period" gradually decHned and finally disappeared, 
other problems confronted the young nation. These were the prob- 
lems of a newly created state, projected suddenly into the family 
of nations, and obliged, because of this new position, to grapple 
with numerous foreign as weU as purely domestic issues. No one 
comprehended more clearly than George Washington the content 
and significance of these problems, and no one more earnestly urged 
their solution. At the conclusion of his second term of office, Washing- 
ton addressed a solemn farewell to the American people, notifying 
them of his decision not to accept a third term, and protesting his 
devotion to the nation. The following are extracts from the remainder 
of his Farewell Address: 

. . . Here, perhaps, I ought to stop. But a sohcitude for your 
welfare, which cannot end but with my life, and the apprehension 
of danger, natural to that sohcitude, urge me, on an occasion Hke 
the present, to offer to your solemn contemplation, and to recommend 
to your frequent review, some sentiments, which are the result of- 
much reflection. . . . These will be offered to you with the more 
freedom, as you can only see in them the disinterested warnings of 
a parting friend, who can possibly have no personal motive to bias 
his counsel. . . . 

The unity of government, which constitutes you one people, is 
also now dear to you. It is justly so, for it is a main pillar in the 
1 From George Washington, Farewell Address. 
60 



THE PROBLEMS OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 6l 

edifice of your real independence; the support of your tranquillity 
at home; your peace abroad; of your safety; of your prosperity 
in every shape of that liberty which you so highly prize. . . . 

Toward the preservation of your government, and the permanency He warns 
of your present happy state, it is requisite, not only that you steadily fs^'^st 
discountenance irregular oppositions to its acknowledged authority, 
but also that you resist with care the spirit of innovation upon its 
principles, however specious the pretexts. . . . 

Let me now . . . warn you in the most solemn manner against and party 
the baneful efifects of the spirit of party, generally. . . . The al- ^P'"^ 
ternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the 
spirit of revenge natural to party dissension ... is itself a frightful 
despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and perma- 
nent despotism. The disorders and miseries, which result, gradually 
incline the minds of m.en to seek security and repose in the absolute 
power of an individual; and sooner or later the chief of some pre- 
vailing faction . . . turns this disposition to the purposes of his 
own elevation, on the ruins of public liberty. . . . 

The necessity of reciprocal checks in the exercise of political The check 

power . . . has been evinced by experiments ancient and mod- balance 

'^ system. 

em. ... To preserve them must be as necessary as to institute 

them. , . . 

Promote ... as an object of primary importance, institutions Public 
for the general diffusion of knowledge. In proportion as the struc- °Pi^i°^- 
ture of a government gives force to public opinion, it is essential 
that public opinion should be enlightened. 

As a very important source of strength and security, cherish public 
credit. . . . 

Observe good faith and justice toward all nations. Cultivate He warns 
peace and harmony with all. . . . [But] against the insidious wiles ^^amst 
of foreign influence ... the jealousy of a free people ought to be influences 
constantly awake, since history and experience prove that foreign 
influence is one of the baneful foes of republican government. . . . 
Europe has a set of primary interests, which to us have none, or 
a very remote relation. Hence she must be engaged in frequent 
controversies, the causes of which are essentially foreign to our con- 
cerns. Hence, therefore, it must be unwise in us to imphcate our- 



62 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



selves, by artificial ties, in the ordinary vicissitudes of her politics, 
or the ordinary combinations and collisions of her friendships or 
enmities. ... 



The two 

great 

problems 

facing 

Jackson 

in 1833: 



The preser- 
vation of 
states' 
rights and 
the integ- 
rity of the 
Union. 

Duty of 
obeying 
the laws. 



The double 
duty which 
rests upon 
the President. 



26. Jackson on the aims of government ^ 

The issues of American political Hfe changed markedly in charac- 
ter and content in the four decades which followed the Farewell Ad- 
dress of Washington. Nevertheless, when on March 4, 1833, Andrew 
Jackson began his second term as President of the United States, 
he beUeved that the two greatest problems facing him were those 
with which Washington had been famihar: First, the preservation 
of the rights of the several states, and second, the preservation of 
the integrity of the Union. In his second inaugural address, Jackson 
referred to these problems in the following language: 

... In the domestic policy of this Government there are two 
objects which especially deserve the attention of the people and 
their representatives, and which have been and will continue to 
be the subjects of my increasing solicitude. They are the preserva- 
tion of the rights of the several states and the integrity of the Union. 

These great objects are necessarily connected, and can only be 
attained by an enlightened exercise of the powers of each within its 
appropriate sphere in conformity with the public will constitutionally 
expressed. To this end it becomes the duty of all to yield a ready 
and patriotic submission to the laws constitutionally enacted, and 
thereby promote and strengthen a proper confidence in those insti- 
tutions of the several states and of the United States which the people 
themselves have ordained for their own government. 

My experience in public concerns and the observation of a life 
somewhat advanced confirm the opinions long since imbibed by 
me, that the destruction of our state governments or the annihilation 
of their control over the local concerns of the people would lead 
directly to revolution and anarchy, and finally to despotism and 
military domination. . . . 

Solemnly impressed with these considerations, my countrymen 
will ever find me ready to exercise my constitutional powers in 
arresting measures which may directly or indirectly encroach upon 
1 From Andrew Jackson, Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1833. 



THE PROBLEMS OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 63 

the rights of the states or tend to consolidate all political power in 
the General Government. 

But of equal, and, indeed, of incalculable, importance is the union 
of these states, and the sacred duty of all to contribute to its pres- 
ervation by a liberal support of the general government in the exer- 
cise of its just powers. . . . Without union our independence and 
liberty would never have been achieved; without union they never 
can be maintained. . . . The loss of hberty, of all good govern- 
ment, of peace, plenty, and happiness, must inevitably follow a 
dissolution of the Union. . . . 

The time at which I stand before you is full of interest. The He pleads 

eyes of all nations are fixed on our Republic. The event of the exist- ^°'' ^^? *^°" 

operation 
ing crisis will be decisive in the opinion of the practicability of our of the 

federal system of government. Great is the stake placed in our peopl^- 

hands; great is the responsibiUty which must rest upon the people 

of the United States. Let us reaUze the importance of the attitude 

in which we stand before the world. Let us exercise forbearance and 

firmness. Let us extricate our country from the dangers which 

surround it and learn wisdom from the lessons they inculcate. . . . 



27. Lincoln on the spirit of lawlessness ^ 

While Andrew Jackson was still serving his second term as Presi- Lincoln 
dent of the United States, a young man in Springfield, Illinois, was before the 

. . e ic Springfield 

aiding in the organization of a Young Men s Lyceum for Mutual Lyceum. 
Improvement." This was Abraham Lincoln. In 1837, when only 
twenty-eight years of age, Lincoln addressed this lyceum on the 
subject of the perpetuation of our political institutions. The follow- 
ing are extracts from this speech: 

In the great journal of things happening under the sun, we, the Favored 
American people, find our account running under date of the nine- position 
teenth century of the Christian era. We find ourselves in the peace- American 
ful possession of the fairest portion of the earth as regards extent P^op'e- 
of territory, fertility of soil, and salubrity of climate. We find our- 
selves under the government of a system of political institutions 
conducing more essentially to the ends of civil and religious Uberty 
than any of which the history of former times tells us. 

* From the Sangamon (Illinois) Journal, February 3, 1838. 



64 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



The duty of 
the present 
generation 
contrasted 
with the 
duty of the 
early 
American 
patriots. 



Danger of 
lawlessness. 



The remedy 
for law- 
lessness. 



We, when mounting the stage of existence, found ourselves the 
legal inheritors of these fundamental blessings. We toiled not in 
the acquisition or establishment of them; they are a legacy be- 
queathed to us by a once hardy, brave and patriotic, but now lamented 
and departed, race of ancestors. Theirs was the task (and nobly 
they performed it) to possess themselves of this goodly land, and to 
uprear upon its hills and in its valleys a political edifice of liberty 
and equal rights; 'tis ours only to transmit these — the former 
unprofaned by the foot of an invader, the latter undecayed by the 
lapse of time and untorn by usurpation — to the latest generation 
that fate shall permit the world to know. This task of gratitude 
to our fathers, justice to ourselves, duty to posterity, and love for 
our species in general, imperatively require us faithfully to perform. 

How, then, shall we perform it? At what point shall we expect 
the approach of danger? . . . 

I answer, If it ever reach us it must spring up amongst us; it can- 
not come from abroad. If destruction be our lot we must ourselves 
be its author. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time, 
or die by suicide. I hope I am over wary; but if I am not, there is 
even now something of ill omen amongst us. I mean the increasing 
disregard for law which pervades the country. . . . 

Here, then, is one point at which danger may be expected. 

The question recurs, "How shall we fortify against it?" The 
answer is simple. Let every American, every lover of hberty, every 
well wisher to his posterity swear by the blood of the Revolution 
never to violate in the least particular the laws of the country, and 
never to tolerate their violation by others. . . . Let reverence for 
the laws be breathed by every American mother to the lisping babe 
that prattles on her lap; let it be taught in schools, in seminaries, 
and in colleges; ... let it be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in 
legislative halls, and enforced in the courts of justice. And, in short, 
let it become the political religion of he nation; and let the old and 
the young, the rich and the poor, the grave and the gay of all sexes 
and tongues and colors and conditions, sacrifice unceasingly upon 
its altars. . . . 

While ever a state of feeling such as this shall universally or even 
very generally prevail throughout the nation, vain will be every 
effort, and fruitless every attempt to subvert our national freedom. 



THE PROBLEMS OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 65 

When I so pressingly urge a strict observance of all the laws, let Even bad 

me not be understood as saying there are no bad laws, or that eriev- j^ws should 

_ _ _ be obeyed 

ances may not arise, for the redress of which no legal provisions until they 
have been made. I mean to say no such thing. But I do mean to ^^^ 
say that although bad laws, if they exist, should be repealed as soon 
as possible, still, while they continue in force, for the sake of example 
they should be religiously observed. . . . 



28. Roosevelt on the problems of American life ^ 

In the century following the Farewell Address of George Washing- Problem of 

ton the problems of American democracy underwent an almost Preserving 
"^ _ the Union 

unbeHevable change. The fears which both Washington and Jackson less urgent 
had expressed as to the integrity of the Union proved to have been !i!^*^.^ ^^ 
justified when in 1861 the Civil War threatened to disrupt the nation. 
But the young man who in 1837 had pleaded with his countrymen 
for obedience to law exercised the powers of the Federal Executive 
during that trying period, and brought the disrupted parts back into 
an indissoluble Union. Since the Civil War, the problem of the 
relation of the states to the Federal government has occupied a rela- 
tively unimportant position in the minds of the American people. 
As anxiety for the integrity of the Union has decreased, an increas- The 

ing amount of attention has been demanded by other issues. With development 

... of new 

the settlement of the Great West and the industrialization of the issues. 

entire country, the problems of American life have become more 

and more urgent. New problems have arisen, old problems have 

become more complex. The question of industrial relations in a 

country devoting an increasing amount of attention to trade and 

commerce, the social effects of rapid urban growth, the necessity of 

adjusting the governmental machinery to cope with the new demands 

being made upon it, these and similar' developments have emphasized 

the importance of the problems of American democracy. 

No one was more keenly aware of the urgency of these problems, The second 

and no one more fearless in attacking them, than Theodore Roosevelt, i^iaugural 

address of 

Below is the full text of his second inaugural address, in which he Theodore 
visualizes the outlook for American democracy in 1905: Roosevelt, 

^ From Theodore Roosevelt, Second Inaugural Address, March 4, 1905. 



66 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Fortune has 
smiled upon 
America. 



Yet our 
position is 
a respon- 
sible one. 



Our 

attitude 

toward 

other 

nations. 



My Fellow-Citizens: No people on earth have more cause to be 
thankful than ours, and this is said reverently, in no spirit of boast- 
fulness in our own strength, but with gratitude to the Giver of Good 
who has blessed us with the conditions which have enabled us to 
achieve so large a measure of well-being and of happiness. To us as 
a people it has been granted to lay the foundations of our national 
life in a new continent. We are the heirs of the ages, and yet we 
have had to pay few of the penalties which in old countries are ex- 
acted by the dead hand of a bygone civilization. We have not been 
obliged to fight for our existence against any alien race; and yet 
our life has called for the vigor and effort without which the manlier 
and hardier virtues wither away. I Under such conditions it would 
be our own fault if we failed; and the success which we have had in 
the past, the success which we confidently believe the future will 
bring, should cause in us no feeling of vainglory, but rather a deep 
and abiding realization of all which life has offered us; a full acknowl- 
edgment of the responsibility which is ours; and a fixed determination 
to show that under a free government a mighty people can thrive best, 
alike as regards the things of the body and the things of the soul. 

Much has been given us, and much wiU rightfully be expected 
from us. We have duties to others and duties to ourselves; and we 
can shirk neither. We have become a great nation, forced by the 
fact of its greatness into relations with the other nations of the 
earth, and we must behave as beseems a people with such responsi- 
bilities. Toward all other nations, large and small, our attitude 
must be one of cordial and sincere friendship. We must show not 
only in our words, but in our deeds, that we are earnestly desirous 
of securing their good will by acting toward them in a spirit of just 
and generous recognition of all their rights. But justice and gener- 
osity in a nation, as in an individual, count most when shown not 
by the weak but by the strong. While ever careful to refrain from 
wronging others, we must be no less insistent that we are not wronged 
ourselves. We wish peace, but we wish the peace of justice, the peace 
of righteousness. We wish it because we think it is right and not 
because we are afraid. No weak nation that acts manfully and 
justly should ever have cause to fear us, and no strong power should 
ever be able to single us out as a subject for insolent aggression. 



THE PROBLEMS OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 67 

Our relations with the other powers of the world are important; The 
but still more important are our relations among ourselves. Such character 
growth in wealth, in population, and in power as this nation has of modem 
seen during the century and a quarter of its national life is inevitably 
accompanied by a like growth in the problems which are ever before 
every nation that rises to greatness. Power invariably means both 
responsibiUty and danger. Our forefathers faced certain perils which 
we have outgrown. We now face other perils, the very existence of 
which it was impossible that they should foresee. Modern life is 
both complex and intense, and the tremendous changes wrought by 
the extraordinary industrial development of the last half century are 
felt in every fiber of our social and political being. 

Never before have men tried so vast and formidable an experi- Democracy 

ment as that of administering the affairs of a continent under the '^ ^^^^} '"^^ 

expermient. 
forms of a democratic republic. The conditions which have told 

for our marvelous material well-being, which have developed to 
a very high degree our energy, self-rehance, and individual initiative^ 
have also brought the care and anxiety inseparable from the accumu- 
lation of great wealth in industrial centers. Upon the success of 
our experiment much depends, not only as regards our own welfare, 
but as regards the welfare of mankind. If we fail, the cause of free 
self-government throughout the world will rock to its foundations, 
and therefore our responsibiUty is heavy, to ourselves, to the world 
as it is to-day, and to the generations yet unborn. There is no good 
reason why we should fear the future, but there is every reason why 
we should face it seriously, neither hiding from ourselves the gravity 
of the problems before us nor fearing to approach these problems 
with the unbending, unflinching purpose to solve them aright. 

Yet, after all, though the problems are new, though the tasks The spirit 
set before us diflfer from the tasks set before our fathers who founded '" which 

our prob- 
and preserved this Republic, the spirit in which these tasks must lems must 

be undertaken and these problems faced, if our duty is to be well ^^ faced, 
done, remains essentially unchanged. We know that self-govern- 
ment is difficult. We know that no people needs such traits of char- 
acter as that people which seeks to govern its affairs aright through 
the freely expressed will of the freemen who compose it. 

But we have faith that we shall not prove false to the memories 



68 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



The de- 
mands of 
the times. 



of the men of the mighty past. They did their work, they left us 
the splendid heritage we now enjoy. We in our turn have an assured 
confidence that we shall be able to leave this heritage unwasted and 
enlarged to our children and our children's children. To do so we 
must show, not merely in great crises, but in the everyday affairs 
of Hfe, the quaUties of practical intelligence, of courage, of hardihood, 
and endurance, and above aU the power of devotion to a lofty ideal, 
which made great the men who founded this Republic in the days 
of Washington, which made great the men who preserved this Repub- 
hc in the days of Abraham Lincoln. 



Change 
in our 
relation 
to world 
affairs. 



Attempt 
of the 
United 
States to 
keep out 
of the 
World War. 



29. Wilson on the dangers of the World War period ^ 

Not only did the purely domestic problems of American democracy 
become more numerous and more complex after the opening of the 
twentieth century, but the attitude of the United States toward 
world issues became more important. Despite the advice of Wash- 
ington and Jefferson that we maintain an aloof position in world 
affairs, the march of progress has made this impossible. The advanc- 
ing population of the civilized world, the increasing facUity of trans- 
portation and communication between various sections of the globe, 
the tendency for modern nations to become more and more inter- 
dependent in matters of trade and commerce, these and other develop- 
ments have forced the United States to realize that European events 
affect the American people. 

The outbreak of the World War in the summer of 191 4 aroused 
the interest and sympathies of the American people, but increased, 
too, their desire to keep out of a struggle which originally had 
nothing to do with American issues. But the fact that we were no 
longer an isolated nation made this impossible. Though we attempted 
to remain aloof, the war reached out and touched us so vitaUy and with 
such repeated insistence that by the opening of the year 1917 our 
entry into the struggle seemed likely, if not inevitable. The follow- 
ing are extracts from the second inaugural address of President 
Wilson, who early in 191 7 realized that the nation faced new issues 
of a serious and threatening nature: 

* From Woodrow Wilson, Second Inaugural Address, March 5, igiy. 



THE PROBLEMS OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 69 

My Fellow-Citizens: The four years which have elapsed since The record 



of the 
American 



last I stood in this place have been crowded with counsel and action 
of the most vital interest and consequence. Perhaps no equal period in people, 
our history has been so fruitful of important reforms in our economic 
and industrial life, or so full of significant changes in the spirit and 
purpose of our political action. We have sought very thoughtfully 
to set our house in order, correct the grosser errors and abuses of 
our industrial life, liberate and quicken the processes of our national 
genius and energy, and hft our politics to a broader view of the 
people's essential interests. It is a record of singular variety and 
singular distinction. But I shall not attempt to review it. . . . This 
is not the time for retrospect. It is time, rather, to speak our 
thoughts and purposes concerning the present and the immediate 
future. 

Although we have centered counsel and action with such unusual Effect of 
concentration and success upon the great problems of domestic „,^ World 
legislation, . . . other matters have more and more forced them- America, 
selves upon our attention, matters lying outside our own life as a 
nation, and over which we had no control. . . . The war inevitably 
set its mark from the first alike upon our minds, our industries, our 
commerce, our politics, and our social action. To be indifferent to 
it or independent of it was out of the question. . . . 

There are many things stiU to do at home, to clarify our own Pressing 
politics and give new vitality to the industrial processes of our own "^f^^J^ 
fife, and we shall do them as time and opportunity serve; but we foreign 
reaUze that the greatest things that remain to be done must be situation. 
done with the whole world for stage and in cooperation with the 
wide and universal forces of mankind, and we are making our spirits 
ready for those things. They will follow in the immediate wake of 
the war itself and will set civilization up again. We are provincials 
no longer. The tragical events of the thirty months of vital turmoil 
through which we have just passed have made us citizens of the 
world. . . . 

And yet we are not the less Americans on that account. We shall Principles 
be the more American if we but remain true to the principles in °^ American 
which we have been bred. . . . 

I need not argue these principles to you, my fellow-countrymen: 



70 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



The call 
for a unity 
of purpose 
and action. 



they are your own, part and parcel of your own thinking and your 
own motive in affairs. . . . 

And it is imperative that we should stand together. We are being 
forged into a new unity amidst fires that now blaze throughout 
the world. In their ardent heat we shall, in God's providence, let 
us hope, be purged of faction and division, purified of the errant 
humors of party and of private interest, and shall stand forth in the 
days to come with a new dignity of national pride and spirit. Let 
each man see to it that the dedication is in his own heart, the high 
purpose of the nation in his own mind, ruler of his own will and 
desire. ... 



Effect of 
the World 
War upon 
the prob- 
lems of 
American 
democracy. 



Status of 
the Con- 
stitution. 



30. Harding on the issues of the Twentieth Century ^ 

From the standpoint of the United States, the World War was 
an abnormal phenomenon which exaggerated and distorted those 
issues which are purely American. But though the cessation of 
hostilities on November ii, 191 8, purged American life of many 
issues which had been purely abnormal and transitory, the World 
War exerted upon our national life many influences which are proving 
to be both profound and permanent. Just as the American Revolu- 
tion deeply affected our early national life, and just as the effects 
of the Civil War can still be traced in current issues, so the World 
War modified our attitude, not only toward world affairs, but toward 
purely domestic concerns as well. In January, 1920, this changed 
viewpoint was the subject of an address by Warren G. Harding, 
then United States Senator from Ohio. The following are extracts 
from his address: 

... I have come to think it fundamentally and patriotically Ameri- 
can to say there is no room anywhere in these United States for any 
one who preaches destruction of the government which is within 
the Constitution. This patriotically, if not divinely, inspired funda- 
mental law fits every real American citizen, and the man who cannot 
fit himself to it is not fit for American citizenship, nor deserving 
of our hospitality. It fuUy covers all classes and masses in its guaran- 



1 From Warren G. Harding, Address delivered before the Ohio Society of New 
York, New York City, January 10, 1920. 



THE PROBLEMS OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 71 

teed liberties, and any class or mass that opposed the Constitution 

is against the country and the flag. . . . 

What humanity most needs just now is understanding. The What 

present-day situation is more acute because we are in the ferment '^"^'^'^'ty 
^ ■' needs, 

that came of war and war's aftermath. Ours was a fevered world, 

sometimes flighty, as we used to say in the village, to suggest fever's 

fancies or delirium. But we are slow getting normal again, and the 

world needs sanity as it seldom needed it before. . . . 

Normal thinking will help more. And normal living will have Back to 
the effect of a magician's wand, paradoxical as the statement seems. "°'™'^'- 
The world does deeply need to get normal, and liberal doses of mental 
science freely mixed with resolution will help mightfly. I do not 
mean the old order will be restored. It wiU never come again. . . . 

But there is a sane normalcy due under the new conditions, to be Certain 

reached in deliberation and understanding. And aU men must under- Principles 

which are 
Stand and join in reaching it. Certain fundamentals are unchange- fundamental 

able and everlasting. Life without toU never was and never can be. , "'^', , 

changeable. 
Ease and competence are not to be seized in frenzied envy; they 

are the reward of thrift and industry and denial. There can be no 
excellence without great labor. There is no reward except as it is 
merited. Lowered cost of living and increased cost of production 
are an economic fraud. Capital makes possible while labor produces, 
and neither ever achieved without the other, and both of them to- 
gether never wrought a success without genius and management. . . . 
It would halt the great procession to time our steps with the Thrift, 

indolent, the lazy, the incapable, or the suUenly envious. Nor P^^'". ^\^'"8. 

and indus- 

can we risk the course sometimes suggested by excessive wealth and try. 
its ofttimes insolent assumption of power. But we can practice thrift 
and industry, we can live simply and commend righteous achieve- 
ment, we can make honest success an inspiration to succeed, and 
we can march hopefuUy on to the chorus of Uberty, opportunity, 
and justice. . . . 
There can be no liberty without security, and there can be no The 

security without the supremacy of law and the majesty of just gov- Constitution 

responsive 
ernment. In the gleaming Americanism of the Constitution there to public 

is neither fear nor favor, but there are equal rights to all, equal opinion, 
opportunities beckoning to every man, and justice untrammeled, . . . 



72 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



America's 
course. 



Duty to 
cherish 
American 
nationality. 



This not 
inconsistent 
with our 
duty toward 
foreign 
nations. 



America 
first! 



Governmental policies change and laws are altered to meet the 
changed conditions which attend all human progress. [But] there 
are orderly processes for these necessary changes. Let no one 
proclaim the Constitution unresponsive to the conscience of the 
repubUc. ... 

Our American course is straight ahead, with liberty under the 
law, and freedom glorified in righteous restraint. Reason illumines 
our onward path, and deUberate, intelligent pubUc opinion reveals 
every pitfall and byway which must be avoided. America spurns 
evety committal to the Umits of mediocrity and bids every man to 
cUmb to the heights and rewards him as he merits it. This is the 
essence of liberty and made us what we are. Our system may be 
imperfect, but under it we have wrought to world astonishment, 
and we are only fairly begun. . . . 

Mr. Toastmaster, we have been hearing lately of the selfishness 
of nationality, and it has been urged that we must abandon it in 
order to perform our full duty to humanity and civilization. Let 
us hesitate before we surrender the nationality which is the very 
soul of highest Americanism. This republic has never failed humanity 
or endangered civilization. We have been tardy about it, like when 
we were proclaiming democracy and neutrality while we ignored 
our national rights, but the ultimate and helpful part we played in 
the great war will be the pride of Americans so long as the world 
recites the story. 

We do not mean to hold aloof, we choose no isolation, we shun no 
duty. I like to rejoice in an American conscience and in a big con- 
ception of our obligations to liberty, justice and civilization. Aye, 
and more, I like to think of Columbia's helping hand to new republics 
which are seeking the blessings portrayed in our example. But I 
have a confidence in our America that requires no council of foreign 
powers to point the way of American duty. . . . 

Call it the selfishness of nationality, I think it an inspiration 
to patriotic devotion to safeguard America first, to stabilize America 
first, to prosper America first, to think of America first, to exalt 
America first, and to live for and revere America first. We may do 
more than prove exemplars to the world of enduring, representative 
democracy where the Constitution and its liberties are unshaken. 



THE PROBLEMS OF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 73 

We may go on securely to the destined fulfillment and make a strong 
and generous nation's contribution to human progress, forceful in 
example, generous in contribution, helpful in all suffering, and fear- 
less in all conflicts. . . . 



Questions on the foregoing Readings 

1. What was the object of Washington's Farewell Address? 

2. What did Washington say concerning innovations? 

3. What was Washington's opinion of the political party? 

4. Why did Washington warn the American people against foreign 

influence? 

5. What two great problems faced President Jackson in 1833? 

6. What double duty did Jackson consider as resting upon him? 

7. Upon what subject did Abraham Lincoln address the Springfield 

Lyceum in 1837? 

8. In what way was the position of the American people a favored 

one in Lincoln's time? 

9. Contrast the duty of the American people in Lincoln's time with 

the duty of the earlier American patriots. 

10. What did Lincoln say concerning the danger of lawlessness? 

11. How did he recommend that this danger be guarded against? 

12. What did Lincoln say as to the attitude of the citizen toward 

bad laws? 

13. What American problem declined in importance after the period 

of the Civil War? 

14. Name a few problems which took on increased importance after 

the Civil War. 
15 What did Roosevelt say concerning our attitude toward other 
nations? 

16. What, according to Roosevelt, have been some of the effects of 

modern life upon our problems? 

17. What did Roosevelt say concerning democracy as an experiment? 

18. What, according to Roosevelt, are the qualities needed by the 

American citizen in the affairs of everyday life? 

19. In what way did the march of progress make it impossible for us 

to hold aloof from European affairs? 

20. Why were we unable to remain indifferent to the World War? 

21. Outline President Wilson's call for a unity of purpose and action 

in 1917. 

22. Discuss the effect of the World War upon the problems of American 

democracy. 



74 READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 

23. What, according to President Harding, is the status of the Con- 

stitution of the United States? 

24. In what way did President Harding believe that the war-stricken 

world could get back to normal? 

25. Outline the essentials of President Harding's " America First " 

program. 



PART II — AMERICAN ECONOMIC PROBLEMS 

a. Economics of American Industry 

CHAPTER VI 

THE NATURE OF AMERICAN INDUSTRY 

31. Natural resources of the nation ^ 

Industrial development and material prosperity depend primarily Factors 
upon two factors: first, natural resources; and second, the character |^^^yg^|.°"/"^ 
of the people. From the earliest times, the territory now included success. 
within the bounds of the United States has been celebrated for its 
great extent, the favorable character of its cUmate, and the abundance 
and diversity of its natural resources. America has offered every- 
thing which a virile, energetic people could consider necessary to 
the development of an industrial civilization. Some of the more 
important of the natural resources of the United States are described 
by Professor Bogart as follows: 

... By the treaty of Paris, 1783, the new nation came into jx)sses- Area of the 
sion of an immense domain of 827,844 square miles. Since that c/^f^ 
time the area of the United States has been vastly increased, by 
purchase, by conquest, and by cession, until, in 1900, the United 
States consisted of 3,726,500 square miles or about one fourteenth 
of the entire land surface of the earth. . . . 

The advantages to a nation of having a seacoast well provided Coast 

with numerous bays and harbors are obvious. Not less important ^'"^ ^ 

•^ waterways. 

for the internal commerce of a country is a system of long and navi- 
gable rivers. In both these respects the United States is wonderfully 
well provided. The Mississippi River with its tributaries drains 
over 1,000,000 square miles of territory in the very heart of the most 
fertile region of the country. Cities more than 1000 miles inland 
have direct water communication with the seaboard, and coal is 

* From Ernest L. Bogart, The Economic History of the United States. Long- 
mans, Green & Co., 191 2; pp. 2-15. 

75 



76 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Extent and 
quality of 
our coal 
deposits. 



Iron 

resources. 



Other 
metals, 



Forests. 



transported more than looo miles from Pittsburg to the upper reaches 
of the Missouri River. Altogether, it is estimated that there are 
18,000 miles of navigable rivers in the United States, while the shore 
line of the Great Lakes extends for at least 1500 mUes more. . . . 

Fortunately for the human race, coal is widely distributed through- 
out the world, although Europe and the United States to-day supply 
practically aU the coal now mined. Professor Tarr estimates the 
actual coal-producing area in the United States at not over 50,000 
square miles, of which only a small part is being worked. ... By 
far the greatest part of our available supply is bitiuninous, the area 
which is underlaid with anthracite being not more than 484 square 
miles. Not merely in the extent of the area underlaid with coal 
are we favorably situated, but our superiority over Europe and the 
rest of the world is made more evident by a comparison of the thick- 
ness of the seams, the depth, the dip, and the cost of working. In 
all these respects we have an advantage. 

Next in importance to the fuel supplies of the United States rank 
its stores of iron ore. These exist in large quantity and are widely 
disseminated. . . . Iron and coal, more than any other mineral 
substances, form the material basis of our industrial prosperity, and 
in the possession of large supplies of both, the United States is greatly 
blessed. 

Next after iron, copper ranks as the most necessary in the indus- 
trial arts. . . . The United States is the greatest copper-producing 
country in the world, turning out over half of the total amount. . . . 
Lead and zinc are usually found associated. ... In the production 
of both of these, the United States is surpassed by Europe. . . . 
Of far greater value, though of subordinate importance in the in- 
dustrial arts, are the so-called precious metals — gold and silver. 
In the production of both of these, the United States ranks second, 
the first places being held respectively by the Transvaal and by 
Mexico. . . . 

The forests of the United States cover an area of about 700 million 
acres, or more than 35 per cent of the area of the country. Of these 
by far the greater part is found in the section east of the Mississippi 
which originally was a vast continuous forest. ... In the Missis- 
sippi valley are found the hardwood forests of oaks, hickories, ashes, 



THE NATURE OF AMERICAN INDUSTRY 77 

gums, etc. West of the Mississippi stretches a forestless, often 
treeless, area of miUions of acres; with the Rocky Mountains begins 
again the coniferous interior forest, and still further west the Pacific 
coast forest. . . . 

Among the valuable resources of a country should be included Climate 
a good climate and a fertile soil: together, these are of great impor- ^'^^ ^'^^^' 
tance in promoting the welfare, prosperity, and material comfort 
of the people. Considered as a whole, the fertility of the soil of the 
United States is remarkably great. ... It is noteworthy that North 
America is broadest in the temperate zone and tapers down to a 
narrow point in the tropical zone, in which respect it is the opposite 
of South America or Africa. . . . 

In its direct effect upon the race which has grown up in the new Effect 

world, the environment seems to have made for a stronger and hardier °^ ^^^. 

American 
people than any of those of the old world. . . . "When one considers environment 

all these things," says Channing, "the climate and rainfall of the "P°" ^^^ 
XT • 1 r> • 1-1 r • ■ European 

United States, its physical configuration, its adaptabuity to the race. 

service of civilized man, its fertile soils and magnificent water powers, 
its inexhaustible mineral resources, and the effect of this environ- 
ment on the physical body, one must admit that the European race 
has gained by its transfer from its ancient home to the soil of the 
United States." 

32. Growth of population in the United States ^ 

The rapid colonization of the New World discovered by Columbus Rapid 

is one of the most striking facts in modern history. Once the people colonization 

of the 
of Europe became aware of the rich natural resources of the North New World. 

American continent, there was a steadily increasing migration of 
home-seekers to the new land. Every important country in North- 
western Europe contributed to the colonial population of the Atlantic 
seaboard, and, later, to the multitudes which spread westward into 
the Mississippi valley and onward to the Pacific Coast. The growth 
and spread of the population of the United States have been described 
by the Bureau of the Census in the following language: 

The first census of the United States, taken as of the first Mondaj' 

' From the United States Bureau of the Census, Statistical Atlas of the Unitrd 
States. Washington, 191 4; pp. 13-23. 



78 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



The popu- 
lation 
of the 
United 
States 
in 1790. 



Extension 
of the 
frontier 
line be- 
tween 1800 
and i860. 



The decade 
1870 to 



The pop- 
ulation 
between 
1880 and 
1890. 



in August, 1790 . . . showed the population of the thirteen States 
then existing, and of the unorganized territory, to be, in the ag- 
gregate, 3,929,214. This population was distributed . . . almost 
entirely along the Atlantic seaboard. . . . Only a very small pro- 
portion of the inhabitants of the United States, not indeed more 
than 5 per cent, was found west of the Appalachian Mountains. . . . 

At the second census, that of 1800, the frontier line . . . had ad- 
vanced. . . . 

During the decade from 1800 to 18 10 great changes will be noted, 
especially the extension of sparse settlements in the interior. The 
hills of western New York had become almost entirely populated. 
The occupation of the Ohio River valley had now become com- 
plete, from its head to its mouth, with the exception of small groups 
below the mouth of the Tennessee. . . . 

In 1830 the frontier line had a length of 5300 miles, and the aggre- 
gate area embraced between the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, 
and the frontier line was 725,406 square miles. . . . 

The frontier line which now CiSso] extended around a considerable 
part of Texas and issued on the Gulf Coast at the mouth of the 
Nueces River, was 4500 miles in length. ... 

In i860 the first extension of settlement beyond the line of the 
Missouri River is noted. The march of settlement up the slope of 
the Great Plains had begun. . . . 

During the decade from 1870 to 1880 . . . the first noticeable 
point ... is the great extent of territory which was brought under 
occupation during the decade. Not only had settlement spread 
west over large areas in Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Texas, thus 
moving the frontier line of the main body of settlement west many 
scores of mUes, but the isolated settlements of the CordUleran Region 
and of the Pacific coast showed enormous accessions of occupied 
territory. ... 

[Between 1880 and 1890] the most striking fact connected with 
the extension of settlement . . . was the numerous additions which 
were made to the settled area within the CordiUeran Region. . . . 
Settlements spread westward up the slope of the plains, untU they 
joined the bodies formerly isolated in Colorado, forming a continuous 
body of settlement from the East to the Rocky Mountains. . . . 



THE NATURE OF AMERICAN INDUSTRY 79 

The twelfth census [igoo] marked no years of growth of the Census 
United States, during which period the population increased more ^^°°' 
than twenty-one times, and the country grew from groups of settle- 
ments of less than four million people to one of the leading nations 
of the world, with a population of nearly 85,000,000. . . . 

The returns of the thirteenth census [1910] measure the growth Population 

of the United States after 120 years of development. During this ^l f'^^ 

United 
period the country has grown from less than four million inhabitants States: 

to more than 90,000,000. . . . [Of a number of important countries summary. 
which the Federal Census Bureau has compared with respect to popu- 
lation], the United States was eighth in 1800, but during the century 
its population increased so rapidly that it passed Spain, Italy, the 
United Kingdom, Austria-Hungary, France and Germany, and, 
at the census of 1880, and since that census, has been second, stand- 
ing just below Russia. . . . 



33. Occupations of the American people ^ 

In the three centuries which have elapsed since the English began More than 

serious colonization on the coast of North America, the territory ^ hundred 

million 
now embraced within the United States has become the home of people have 

more than a hundred million people. This is a striking tribute, not |"^^° . 

homes in 
only to the appeal of the rich resources of America, but to the ability the United 

of our population to support and perpetuate itself in industrial and States. 
professional pursuits. The versatile character of the population of 
the United States is shown by an enumeration of the chief occupa- 
tions by means of which our people earn their living. The following 
summary is from the census of the United States: 

1 From the Thirteenth Census oj the United States. Washington, igio. Vol. iv, 
P- S3- 



8o 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Number of Persons Ten Years of Age and over engaged 
IN Principal Occupations, 1910. 



Agriculture 
and allied 
industries. 



Mining. 



Manufac- 
turing and 
mechanical 
industries. 



Occupation 



All occupations 

Agriculture, forestry, and animal husbandry . . 

Dairy farmers 

Dairy farm laborers 

Farmers 

Farm laborers 

Fishermen and oystermen 

Gardeners, florists, fruit growers, and nurserymen. 
Garden, greenhouse, orchard, and nursery laborers 

Lumbermen, raftsmen, and woodchoppers 

Stock herders, drovers, and feeders 

Stock raisers 

All others in this division 

Extraction of minerals 

Coal mine operatives 

Gold and silver mine operatives 

Other mine operatives 

Quarry operatives 

All others in this division 

Manufacturing and mechanical industries. . . . 

Apprentices 

Bakers 

Blacksmiths, forgemen, and hammermen 

Brick and stone masons 

Builders and building contractors 

Carpenters 

Compositors, linotypers, and typesetters 

Dressmakers and seamstresses (not in factory) . . . . 

Electricians and electrical engineers 

Engineers (stationary) 

Firemen (except locomotive and fire department) . 

Foremen and overseers (manufacturing) 

Laborers: 

Clay, glass, and stone industries 

Food industries 

General and not specified laborers 

Helpers in building and hand trades 



Total 



38,167,336 



12 



659,203 

61,816 

35,014 
,865,003 

,975,057 
68,275 

139,25s 
133,927 
161,268 
62,97s 
52,521 
104,092 

964,824 



613,924 
55,436 

136,125 
80,840 
78,499 

10.658,881 



118,964 
89,531 
240,519 
169,402 
174,422 
817,120 
127,589 
449,342 
135,519 
231,041 
111,248 
175,098 

154,826 
82,015 

869,478 
65,431 



THE NATURE OF AMERICAN INDUSTRY 



Occupation 



Lumber and furniture industries 

Metal industries 

Textile industries 

All other industries 

Machinists, millwrights, and toolmakers 

Managers and superintendents (manufacturing) . . 

Manufacturers and officials 

Milliners and millinery dealers 

Molders, founders, and casters (metal) 

Painters, glaziers, varnishers, enamelers, etc 

Plumbers and gas and steam fitters 

Semiskilled operatives: 

Cigar and tobacco factories 

Clay, glass, and stone industries 

Clothing industries 

Food industries 

Lumber and furniture industries 

Metal industries 

Printing and publishing 

Shoe factories 

Textile industries 

All other industries 

Sewers and sewing machine operators (factory) . . 

Shoemakers and cobblers (not in factory) 

Tailors and tailoresses 

Tinsmiths and coppersmiths 

All others in this division 

Transportation 

Brakemen 

Conductors (steam railroad) 

Conductors (street railroad) 

Draymen, teamsters, and expressmen 

Foremen and overseers (railroad) 

Hostlers and stable hands 

Laborers (railroad, steam and street) 

Laborers (road and street building and repairing) 

Locomotive engineers 

Locomotive firemen 

Longshoremen and stevedores 

Mail carriers 

Motormen 

Switchmen, flagmen, and yardmen 

Telegraph operators 



Total 



317.244 
527-714 
87,146 
385,852 
488,049 
104,210 
256,591 
127,906 
120,900 
337,355 
148,304 

151,519 

88,628 
144,607 

88,834 
167,490 
438,063 

67,469 
181,010 
650,260 
463,655 
291,209 

69,570 
204,608 

59,833 
679,310 

2,637,671 



92,572 
65,604 
56,932 
408,469 
69,933 
63,388 

570,975 
180,468 
96,229 
76,381 
62,857 
80,678 
59,005 
85,147 
69,953 



Transpor- 
tation. 



82 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Occupation 



Trade. 



Public and 



professional 
service. 



Domestic 
and per- 
sonal serv- 
ice. 



Telephone operators 

All others in this division 

Trade 

Bankers, brokers, and money lenders 

Clerks in stores 

Commercial travelers 

Deliverymen 

Insurance agents and officials 

Laborers in coal and lumber yards, warehouses, etc. 

Laborers, porters, and helpers in stores 

Real estate agents and oflScials , 

Retail dealers 

Salesmen and saleswomen 

Wholesale dealers, importers, and exporters 

All others in this division 

Public service (not elsewhere classified) , 

Guards, watchmen, and doorkeepers 

Laborers (public service) 

OflScials and inspectors (city and county) 

Officials and inspectors (state and United States) . . 

Policemen 

Soldiers, sailors, and marines , 

All others in this division 

Professional service 

Actors ' , 

Artists, sculptors, and teachers of art 

Civil and mining engineers and surveyors 

Clergymen 

Lawyers, judges, and justices 

Musicians and teachers of music 

Physicians and surgeons 

Teachers 

Trained nurses 

All others in this division 

Domestic and personal service 

Barbers, hairdressers, and manicurists 

Bartenders 

Boarding and lodging house keepers 



Total 



97.893 
501,187 

3.614,670 



105,804 

387.183 

163,620 

229,6ig 

97.964 

81,123 

102,333 

125,862 

E,i95,o2g 

921,130 

51,048 

IS3.95S 

469,291 



78,271 

67.234 
52,254 
52,926 
61,980 
77.153 
69,473 

1,663,669 



28,297 

34,104 

58.963 

118,018 

114,704 

139.310 

151. 132 

599,237 

82,327 

337.477 
3,772,174 



195.275 
101,234 
165,452 



THE NATURE OF AMERICAN INDUSTRY 



83 



Occupation 



Charwomen and cleaners 

Hotel keepers and managers 

Housekeejjers and stewards 

Janitors and sextons 

Laborers (domestic and professional service) . 
Launderers and laundresses (not in laundry) 

Laundry operatives 

Midwives and nurses (not trained) 

Porters (except in stores) 

Restaurant, cafe, and lunch-room keepers. . . 

Saloon keepers 

Servants 

Waiters , 

All others in this division 

Clerical occupations 

Agents, canvassers, and collectors 

Bookkeepers, cashiers, and accountants 

Clerks (except clerks in stores) 

Messenger, bundle, and office boys 

Stenographers and typewriters 



Total 



34,034 

64,504 

189,273 

113,081 

53,480 

533,697 

111,879 

133,043 

84,128 

60,832 

68,215 

1,572,225 

188,293 

103,529 

1,737,063 



105,127 
486,790 
720,408 
108,035 
316,693 



Clerical 
occupations. 



34. Governmental encouragement of business ^ 

Our industrial success has been due chiefly to the richness of our Importance 
natural resources on the one hand, and to the virility and energy of ^ ^ 

' "^ ^-^ government 

the American people on the other. But however rich in natural re- to industry, 
sources a country may be, and however industrious the individuals 
in control of those resources, industrial success cannot be attained 
without a good government. A great factor in the material pros- 
perity of the American people, therefore, has been the helpful atti- 
tude of our government. The follovdng passages briefly describe 
some of the more important services rendered American business 
by the Federal government: 

The bureau of pubhc health in the Treasury Department collects Public 
information as to the sanitary condition of ports and places in the "^'^Ith. 
' From various bulletins issued by the United States Government. 



84 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Work of 
the Depart- 
ment of 
Agriculture. 



Some func- 
tions of the 
Department 
of the 
Interior. 



The De- 
partment of 
Commerce 



United States and foreign countries, including existence of epidemics; 
conducts national quarantine service at nearly all ports of the United 
States and its possessions; has officers in South and Central Ameri- 
can, Asiatic, and European ports for inspection of vessels and 
emigrants leaving for the United States. 

The Department of Agriculture extends numerous services to the 
American people. The Department issues a large number of scien- 
tific and technical publications, including the Year-book, the Farm- 
ers' Bulletins series, the Monthly Weather Review, and the Crop 
Reporter. The scope of the Department's work may be indicated 
by an enumeration of the chief bureaus and divisions within it. These 
are the weather bureau, the office of farm management, bureau of 
animal industry, bureau of plant industry, forest service, bureau of 
chemistry, bureau of soils, bureau of entomology, bureau of statistics, 
bureau of experiment stations, bureau of crop estimates, office of 
pubUc roads and rural engineering, bureau of markets, horticultural 
board, and the insecticide and fungicide board. 

Several of the bureaus and divisions within the Department of 
the Interior perform valuable services with respect to American 
industry. The geological survey investigates, classifies and issues 
reports upon the mineral resources of the nation. The bureau of 
mines is concerned with the mining, quarrying, treatment and 
utilization of ores and other mineral substances. The patent office 
grants letters patent for inventions, and registers trade-marks. The 
reclamation service is charged with the survey, construction and 
operation of the irrigation works in arid states. The bureau of 
education collects statistics and general information showing the 
condition and progress of education, including commercial and 
industrial teaching at home and abroad. 

The Department of Commerce is directly concerned with American 
industry and commerce. As in the case of other Federal executive 
departments, the work of the Department of Commerce is carried 
on by bureaus and boards. The bureau of the census prepares 
and prints decennial reports on the population and numerous 
industrial activities of the nation. The Department includes a bureau 
of fisheries, a bureau of navigation, a bureau of lighthouses, and 
a steamboat inspection bureau. The bureau of standards within the 



THE NATURE OF AMERICAN INDUSTRY 85 

Department of Commerce has the custody of the national standards 
of weights, measures, etc. 

Of increasing importance is the work of the bureau of foreign and and its 
domestic commerce, within the Department of Commerce. This functions, 
bureau was created in 191 2 by the consoUdation of the bureau of 
manufactures and the bureau of statistics. The function of the 
bureau of foreign and domestic commerce is the investigation and 
promotion of American business at home and abroad. In order to 
fulfill this function the bureau employs a corps of commercial agents, 
who investigate trade conditions at home and abroad, and submit 
reports resulting from their observations. The bureau makes use 
of all available means to publish as widely as possible commercial 
information of interest and value to the manufacturing interests 
of the country. 

The youngest of the Federal executive departments is the Depart- The De- 
ment of Labor, created in 1913 by the separation of the Department P|^rtment 
of Commerce and Labor into a Department of Commerce and a 
Department of Labor. The functions of the latter department are 
steadily increasing. Within this Department is the bureau of labor 
statistics, which compiles and pubhshes useful information on sub- 
jects connected with labor in the most general and comprehensive 
sense of that word. Important functions are performed by the 
bureau of immigration, the bureau of naturalization, and the 
children's bureau, all of which are located within the Department 
of Labor. 

35. Keeping track of industrial tendencies ^ 

One of the outstanding features of American industry is its great Magnitude 

size and complexity. The United States is almost as large as the whole ?^ American 

° industry. 

of Europe, yet the industries of this country must often be considered 

as a unit. Thus one of the most important services in business 

life is the systematization and interpretation of industrial data. 

Numerous governmental and private agencies attempt to give a 

bird's-eye view of industrial tendencies, with the aim of keeping the 

American business man in touch with fundamental facts and signifi- 

* From the National City Bank of New York, Monthly Business Letter, Sep- 
tember, 192 1. 



86 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



cant developments. The following excerpts are from the Monthly 
Business Letter, by means of which the National City Bank of New 
York attempts to keep track of industrial tendencies: 



General 

business 
conditions. 



The in- 
dustries. 



The crops. 



Money. 



Monthly Business Letter for September, igsi 

The general situation in business has changed httle, with business 
in August quiet. ... If the farmers who think they are the only 
sufferers from falling prices knew the facts about the losses of manu- 
facturing and trading companies they would be less unhappy about 
their own. There has been misery enough to go all around. . . . Bank 
clearings have been running about 26 per cent below those of a year 
ago, which in view of the fall of prices is a remarkably good showing. 
Railway trafi&c has been helped by the big grain movement, but 
car-loadings are about 20 per cent below last year. . , . 

The industries are very quiet, with a few exceptions. There is 
said to be a little more activity in iron and steel, but the past month 
has seen further reductions both in wages and prices. . . . The 
textile industries as a group are an exception to the general situation. 
This is particularly true in cotton goods, which have blossomed out 
into something resembling a real boom. . . . 

The grain crops are not quite up to last year, having suffered 
injury under the heat and dry weather of July. . . . The general 
situation as to wheat is good. Unlike that of last year, domestic 
stocks of flour are small and the millers are buying grain freely. . . . 
The corn crop is about 200,000,000 bushels under last year's, but 
is around 3,000,000,000 bushels, and the carry-over from last year 
is very large. The oat crop is poor, but there also the carry-over 
is large. . . . The situation of the cotton crop would signify disaster 
in normal times. The acreage was reduced about 25 per cent, and 
now the condition of the crop forecasts a low yield per acre. . . . 

The demand for new money is light. While the boom was on and 
the tendency of prices was upward, money was in constantly increas- 
ing demand, for no matter what profits borrowers made nobody 
wanted to use any of them for so uninteresting a purpose as paying 
debts. That situation has changed. While the low prices are making 
money tight, the demand is for the purpose of paying old debts. 
The people now have their minds fixed on getting out of debt. . . . 



THE NATURE OF AMERICAN INDUSTRY 87 

36. The wealth of the nation ^ 

The rich natural resources of the nation have been utilized by The United 

a virile, energetic people, living under a helpful legal system. As States the 

a result the United States is to-day the wealthiest country in the nation 

world. Though the exact measurement of our national wealth is '" ^^^ 

world, 
perhaps impossible, the estimates of careful statisticians are gener- 
ally accepted as approximately correct. From such estimates it 
appears that the wealth of the nation increased, between 1850 and 
191 2, from $7,000,000,000 to $187,000,000,000. The character 
of this wealth, and its amount in comparison with the wealth of 
other countries, are shown in the following extract of a special bulletin 
of the Census Bureau: 

Table i. — Estimated True Value of all Property increase in 

national 

wealth, 

1850-1912. 





Date 


Total 


Per Capita 


1850 


$7,i3S>78o,228 


$308 


i860 


16,159,616,068 


514 


1870 


24,054,814,806 


624 


1880 


43,642,000,000 


870 


1890 


65.037.091,197 


1,036 


1900 


88,517,306,775 


1,165 


1904 


107,104,192,410 


1.318 


1912 


187,739,071,090 


1.965 



. . . These estimates have been prepared upon two different 
bases and by a number of different methods. The estimates for 1850, 
i860, and 1870 were confined to taxable real property and the personal 
property of private individuals, firms, and corporations. They did 
not include any estimates of the value of the public domain nor of 
other exempt realty, nor of the value of the furniture or equipment 
of pubhc buildings of governments nor of charitable, religious, or 
educational institutions, all of which were included in the estimates 
for 1880, 1890, 1900, 1904, and 191 2. . , . 

Estimates for igis and igoo. — Table 2, which follows, affords a 
ready means of comparing the total values of the several classes of 
wealth in 191 2 with those of 1900. . . . 

1 From the United States Bureau of the Census, Estimated Valuation of National 
Wealth, 1850-1912. Washington, 1915; pp. 14-16, 18-20. 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



National 
wealth in 
I goo com- 
pared with 
national 
wealth 
in 1912. 



Table 2. 



Estimates of Wealth for 191 2 and 1900 

(in millions of dollars) 



Form of Wealth 



igi2 



Total $i87,73g 

Real property and improvements taxed 

Real property and improvements exempt 

Live stock 

Farm implements and machinery 

Manufacturing machinery, tools, and implements. ...... 

Gold and silver coin and bullion 

Railroads and their equipment 

Street railways, etc.: 

Street railways 

Telegraph systems ^ 

Telephone systems 

Pullman and cars not owned by railroads 

Shipping and canals 

Irrigation enterprises 

Privately owned waterworks 

Privately owned central electric light and power stations . . 
All other: 

Agricultural products 

Manufactured products 

Imported merchandise 

Mining products 

Clothing and personal adornments 

Furniture, carriages, and kindred property 

^ Includes wireless systems. 



1900 



S,Si7 



98,362 


46,324 


12,313 


6,212 


6,238 


3,306 


1,368 


749 


6,091 


2,541 


2,616 


1,677 


16,148 


9,035 


4,596 


1,576 


223 


211 


1,081 


400 


123 


98 


1,491 


537 


360 




290 


267 


2,098 


402 


5. 240 


1,455 


14,693 


6,087 


826 


424 


81S 


326 


4,295 


2,000 


8,463 


4,880 



Wealth of 
the United 
States com- 
pared with 
the wealth 
of other 
countries. 



Estimated wealth of different countries. — Owing to the insufi&ciency 
of official and trustworthy data" pertaining to the subject, it has been 
impossible to prepare a summary of the aggregate wealth of aU nations. 
The following statement summarizes the information concerning the 
wealth of the principal nations as it has been assembled by Augus- 
tus D. Webb, Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society, and pubUshed 
in "The New Dictionary of Statistics" for 191 1. The authority re- 
ferred to gives the values in pounds sterling. The reduction to 
doUars is at the rate of $4.8665 per pound sterUng. It will be ob- 
served that the figures for the United States are those compiled by 



THE NATURE OF AMERICAN INDUSTRY 



89 



the Bureau of the Census for the year 1904. The data presented 
are far from comparable because of the difference in dates for which 
the estimates were made and the character of the data included. . . • 



Country 


Year 


Character of Data 


Amount 




1904 
1903 

1903 
1903 
1903 
1903 
1903 
1903 

Recently 
1900 
1908 
1903 
1905 

1907 


Total wealth 


$107,104,192,410 




Total wealth 


108,279,625,000 




Total wealth 




United Kingdom 

Canada 


72,997,500,000 
6,569,775,000 
5.353.150,000 

14. 'loo.'; 00.000 


Total wealth 


Australasia 


Total wealth 


India 


Total wealth 


South Africa 


Total wealth 


2,919,900,000 


Remainder of Empire . 


Total wealth 


5,839,800,000 


France 

Denmark 


Private wealth 

Total wealth 


46,798,500,000 
1,946,600,000 


Germany 


Total wealth 


77,864,000,000 


Australia 

New Zealand 


Private wealth 

Public and private wealth 

Fixed property 


4.578,903,000 

I.6oi^.Qd^.OOO 


Cape of Good Hope 


428,939.492 



Questions on the foregoing Readings 

1. Upon what two factors does industrial development depend? 

2. Compare the area of the United States in 1783 with the area of 

this country in 1900. 

3. Describe briefly the extent of our mineral resources. 

4. What, according to Professor Channing, has been the effect of the 

American environment upon the European race? 

5. Discuss briefly the distribution of the population of the United 

States in 1790. 

6. Outline the extension of the frontier line between 1800 and i860. 

7. In what sections of the country did our population increase most 

rapidly between 1880 and 1890? 

8. Summarize briefly the increase in population in the United States 

between 1790 and 1910. 

9. What is the significance of the fact that more than a hundred 

million people now make their homes within the United States? 



90 READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 

10. Name some occupations which the census bureau lists under the 

general head of " manufacturing and mechanical industries." 

11. What are some of the occupations which have to do with trans- 

portation? 

12. What occupations does the term " professional service " include? 

13. What was the total number of persons ten years of age and over, 

who in 19 10 were engaged in gainful occupations in the United 
States? 

14. What is the relation of government to industry? 

15. What are some of the functions of the Department of Agriculture? 

16. Outline briefly those functions of the Department of the Interior 

which are closely related to our industrial development. 

17. What are the chief functions of the Department of Commerce? 

18. What are some of the concerns of the Department of Labor? 

19. Describe the method by which the National City Bank of New 

York keeps track of industrial tendencies in the United States. 

20. What factors have made the United States the wealthiest nation 

in the world? 

21. Summarize the increase in our national wealth between 1850 and 

1912. 

22. Name some of the forms of wealth which are recognized in the 

enumerations of the Federal Census Bureau. 

23. Compare the wealth of the United States with the wealth of the 

British Empire. 

24. Compare the United States with several other European countries 

with respect to national wealth. 



CHAPTER VII 

WHAT IS MEANT BY PRODUCTION 

37. Man's part in production ^ 

No term is more commonly used in business circles than "pro- a definition 
duction," and yet the exact meaning and significance of this word ° Pf"" 
is often difficult to explain. As a working definition we may say 
that production is the manufacture of objects, or the performance 
of services, which will satisfy the wants of man. The part which 
man actually takes in the productive process has been described 
by the celebrated Austrian economist, Boehm-Bawerk, in the follow- 
ing language: 

To "produce": what does this mean? It has been so often said To "pro- 

by economists that the creation of goods is not the bringing into ,^ \ 

. , what does 

existence of materials that hitherto have not existed — is not "crea- this mean? 

tion" in the true sense of the word, — but only a fashioning of im- 
perishable matter into more advantageous shapes, that it is quite 
unnecessary to say it again. More accurate, but still exposed to 
misinterpretation, is the expression that in production natural powers 
are the servants of man, and are directed by him to his own advantage. 
If this proposition be taken to mean that man in any case can impose 
his sovereign will in place of natural laws, can at will "bully" natural 
law into making a single exception at his bidding, it is entirely 
erroneous. Whether the lord of creation will it or no, not an atom 
of matter can, for a single moment or by a hair's breadth, work other- 
wise than the unchangeable laws of nature demand. 

Man's role in production is much more modest. It consists simply Man plays 

in this — that he, himself a part of the natural world, combines ^ modest 

part in pro- 
his personal powers with the impersonal powers of nature, and duction. 

1 From Eugen von Boehm-Bawerk, The PosUive Theory of Capital. The Mac- 
millan Co., 1891; pp. 12-14. 

91 



92 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Man moves 
things. 



Significance 
of this 
statement. 



The state- 
ment ex- 
plained 



and 
clarified. 



combines them in such a way that under natural law the cooperation 
results in a definite, desired material form. Thus, notwithstanding 
the interference of man, the origin of goods remains purely a natural 
process. The natural process is not disturbed by man, but completed, 
inasmuch as, by apt intervention of his own natural powers, he 
supplies a condition which has hitherto been wanting to the origina- 
tion of a material good. 

If we look more closely at the way in which man assists natural 
processes, we find that his sole but ample contribution consists in 
the moving of things. "Putting objects in motion" is the idea 
which gives the key to all human production and its results; — to 
all man's mastery over nature and its powers. 

And this is so simply because the powers reside in the objects. 
Now when man by his physical powers — the power of moving 
things — is able to dictate where the object shall be, he obtains a 
control over the place at which a natural power may become effective; 
and this means broadly a control over the way and over the time in 
which it may become effective. . . . 

Of course a pound weight acts as a pound weight and never in 
any other way. . . . But just because the expression of one and 
the same natural power always remains the same, results that are 
extraordinarily different may be obtained by getting it to work in 
different combinations — just as by adding like to unlike a different 
sum may be got every time. And so our pound weight, while in itself 
constantly acting with perfect uniformity, will, according to the 
different surroundings in which we place it, sometimes hold together 
a heap of papers on a writing-table, sometimes indicate the weight 
of another object, sometimes regulate the pressure of steam in the 
boiler. 

Again I say a control over the time in which a natural power 
may become effective. This proposition, also, must not be taken 
too literally. It must not be imagined that natural powers work 
intermittently; that man can sometimes bring them to a stand- 
still, sometimes set them working again. On the contrary, natural 
powers are always at work; a natural power not active would 
be a contradiction in terms. But it is possible that several powers 
may be so combined that their activities may for a time mutually 



WHAT IS MEANT BY PRODUCTION 93 

balance each other, and the resultant be rest. . . . This suggests 
how man may get control of the point of time at which a definite 
resultant emerges. It is only necessary for him, by skilful use of 
his power to move objects, to provide the causes of the desired effect, 
all but one. So long as this one is not present the conditions are 
unfulfilled, and there cannot be the desired result. But when at 
the proper moment he adds the last condition, the movement hitherto 
held in leash, as it were, is suddenly set free, and the desired efTect 
is obtained at the opportune time. 

Thus the sportsman moves powder and lead into the barrel of the The ex- 
gun; he shuts the breech; he raises the cock. Each of these things g^^rtsman^ 
has for long possessed and expressed its peculiar powers. In the firing 
powder are present the molecular powers whose energy later on is ^ ^^"' 
to expel the shot from the barrel. The barrel now, as formerly, 
exerts its forces of cohesion and resistance. The trigger which is 
to let the cock smash down, strains and presses against the spring. 
Still the arrangement, the disposition of the collective powers, is 
such that the resultant of their mutual energies is rest. But the 
sportsman covers the wild fowl with the barrel: there is a slight 
pressure on the tongue, a little dislocation of the arrangements, and 
the shot flies. . . . 



38. The principle of the division of labor ^ 

Production is as old as the human race itself, for of course even There are 
the earliest peoples had to put forth some effort to satisfy their ^^g"|^o^s qJ 
wants. Observation and experience have shown us that there are production. 
all sorts of methods of production, some laborious and inefficient, 
others increasingly effective. In an important sense, production is 
effective in proportion as it makes use of the principle of the division 
of labor. The nature and significante of this important principle 
have been described by Adam Smith, the "father" of modern 
economics, in the following language: 

This division of labor, from which so many advantages are derived, 
is not originally the effect of any human wisdom, which foresees 

* From Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of 
Nations. London, 1776. Book i, Chapter 11. 



94 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Origin of 
the princi- 
ple of the 
division 
of labor. 



The 

principle 
unknown 
among 
the lower 
animals. 



The unique 
position 
occupied 
by man. 



How man 
generally 
attains 
his ends. 



and intends that general opulence to which it gives occasion. It is 
the necessary, though very slow and gradual, consequence of a certain 
propensity in human nature which has in view no such extensive 
utihty; i.e. the propensity to truck, barter, and exchange one thing 
for another. ... 

i It is common to all men, and to be found in no otherrace of animals, 
which seem to know neither this nor any other species of contracts. 
. . . Nobody ever saw a dog make a fair and deliberate exchange 
of one bone for another with another dog. Nobody ever saw one 
animal by its gestures and natural cries signify to another, this is 
mine, that yours; I am willing to give this for that. When an animal 
wants to obtain something either of a man or of another animal, 
it has no other means of persuasion but to gain the favor of those 
whose service it requires. A puppy fawns upon its dam, and a spaniel 
endeavors by a thousand attractions to engage the attention of its 
master who is at dinner, when it wants to be fed by him. 

Man sometimes uses the same arts with his brethren, and when 
he has no other means of engaging them to act according to his 
inclinations, endeavors by every servile and fawning attention to 
obtain their good wiU. He has not time, however, to do this upon 
every occasion. In civilized society he stands at all times in need 
of the cooperation and assistance of great multitudes, while his 
whole hfe is scarce sufficient to gain the friendship of a few persons. 
In almost every race of animals each individual, when it is grown 
up to maturity, is entirely independent, and in its natural state has 
occasion for the assistance of no other living creature. But man 
has almost constant occasion for the help of his brethren, and it 
is in vain for him to expect it from their benevolence only. He 
will be more likely to prevail if he can interest their self-love in his 
favor, and show them that it is for their own advantage to do for him 
what he requires of them. 

Whoever offers to another a bargain of any kind, proposes to do 
this: Give me that which I want, and you shall have this which you 
want, is the meaning of every such offer; and it is in this manner 
that we obtain from one another the far greater part of those good 
offices which we stand in need of. It is not from the benevolence 
of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, 



WHAT IS MEANT BY PRODUCTION 95 

but from their regard to their own interest. We address ourselves, 
not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them 
of our own necessities, but of their advantages. . . . 

As it is by treaty, by barter, and by purchase, that we obtain from How the 
one another the greater part of those mutual good offices which we •^l^'sion 
stand in need of, so it is this same trucking disposition which originally arises: 
gives occasion to the division of labor. In a tribe of hunters or shep- ^^ example, 
herds a particular person makes bows and arrows, for example, with 
more readiness and dexterity than any other. He frequently ex- 
changes them for cattle or for venison with his companions; and 
he finds at last that he can in this manner get more cattle and venison, 
than if he himself went to the field to catch them. From a regard 
to his own interest, therefore, the making of bows and arrows grows 
to be his chief business, and he becomes a sort of armourer. 

Another excels in making the frames and covers of their little Further 
huts or movable houses. He is accustomed to be of use in this way examples, 
to his neighbors, who reward him in the same manner, with cattle 
and venison, till at last he finds it to his interest to dedicate himself 
entirely to this employment, and to become a sort of house-carpenter. 
In the same manner a third becomes a smith or a brazier; a fourth 
a tanner or dresser of hides or skins. . . . And thus the certainty 
of being able to exchange all that surplus part of the produce of his 
own labor, (which is over and above his own consumption), for such 
parts of the produce of other men's labor as he may have occasion for, 
encourages every man to cultivate and bring to perfection whatever 
talent or genius he may possess for that particular species of 
business. ... 



39. The productive methods of savages ^ 

CiviUzation is so vast and complicated a structure that it is dan- The division 

gerous to attribute its development to any one principle, or even ?^ labor m 

to any one group of principles. Nevertheless, the economist be- to civiliza- 

lieves that in an important sense civilization depends upon industrial *'*^°" 
efficiency, and, further, that industrial efficiency depends primarily 

* From Frederick Starr, Some First Steps in Human Progress. Chautauqua 
Assembly, Chicago, 1901; pp. 63-67. 



96 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Some 
peoples 
have no 
agriculture. 



The work 
of primitive 
woman. 



The 

probable 
origin of 
agriculture. 



Agriculture 
in aborig- 
inal 
America. 



upon the division of labor. It is true, as Adam Smith has pointed 
out, that the savage makes some use of the principle of the division 
of labor. And yet we shall see, by comparing the remaining selec- 
tions in this chapter, that the division of labor among savages is 
relatively simple and inefficient. The primitive methods of pro- 
duction among some primitive peoples are described by Dr. Starr 
in the following selection: 

There is absolutely no agriculture among the Australians, who 
do not even lay by a stock of the poor foods which niggard nature 
gives them in that backward continent, but eat up all they find in 
one place and then migrate. Among the Bushmen and the Hottentots, 
also, there is no cultivation of the soil; with digging sticks weighted 
with heavy stone rings they dig up roots and tubers, but they plant 
no seeds that new roots and tubers may grow. 

There can be no question that it was the woman, left at home to 
tend the fire, who was the first agriculturist. . . . While the man 
was hunting for game or fighting against his fellows, the woman by 
the fire, — trying to piece out the scanty fare with roots and stems, 
barks and leaves, which she could find about the home, — began the 
various peaceful industries of life. . . . 

In wanderings for roots and fruits she came upon some plant 
particularly noticed on account of its good promise; for fear some 
careless hunter might trample it under foot, or that some animal 
might steal or harm the fruit before it ripened, it would be protected 
by a few sticks set about it. That it might have a better chance to 
grow and bear its fruit the plants around it which prevented it getting 
full share of air and light would be cut away or plucked out. This 
was the beginning of the care of plants. Again, some young and 
sprouting plant distant from the fireside would be transplanted in 
order that it might be more accessible in time of need. Still later 
would come the idea of saving seed for planting, and with this idea 
the clearing of the soil and true agriculture. . . . 

Many people whom we are in the habit of considering mere wild 
hunters had some agriculture; there were few, if any, tribes in North 
America east of the Rocky Mountains and south of the limit of 
almost continuous winter who did not raise some crops. All early 
travellers tell of the gardens of the Iroquois and Algonkin tribes 



WHAT IS MEANT BY PRODUCTION 97 

along our eastern seaboard, and it is well known that the settlers 
of New England must have starved if they had not been helped from 
the supplies of the Indians. Among the southern tribes, such as 
the Creeks, agriculture was still more developed. In Mexico, Central 
America, and the Greater Antilles abundant crops were raised. . . . 

The first and simplest agricultural tool was a sharpened stick for A simple 
digging up roots. . . . This first simple tool is used not only as a *°° ' 
digging stick, but also for drilling holes in which to plant seeds; 
such is its use in Nubia, Yucatan, the Antilles, Sweden, and many 
other places. 

Corn-planting in Central America was and is a very simple process; Planting 
a man going first with his drilling stick, makes a hole in the ground; 
his wife following after drops in a few seeds of maize; little people, 
following after these, with their feet cover the grain thus sown with 
the earth which was loosened by the stick. . . . 

The first threshing must have been a very simple thing. The Harvesting 
Indian women on the Illinois River, at an early day, simply bent 
the stalks of wild rice over the edge of their canoe and with flat 
paddles beat the heads until the seeds fell from them into the boat. 
Fire no doubt was used by [the] women of many primitive folk to 
get the useless husk ofif from the grain and seeds. After animals 
were tamed and reduced to use they would be brought into serv- 
ice; thus among the Pueblo Indians in the Southwest, threshing is 
performed as follows: 

A circular area some yards across is cleared and smoothed and Threshing 
covered with a firm floor of beaten or hard-trodden clay. This p'^gblo 
floor is enclosed by a circle of poles set in the ground, and connected Indians. 
by means of ropes or cords. The grain to be threshed is cut and 
brought in from the fields; it is heaped up, upon the threshing 
floor; a drove of ponies is turned into the enclosure and kept running 
around and around by a man who stands in the center with a whip. 
Soon the motion of the many hoofs upon the straw shakes the grain 
from the husks. . . . Such is one form of primitive threshing. . . . 



98 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



The 

industrial 

eflSciency 

of civilized 

man is of 

recent 

growth. 



The home 
stage in 
boot and 
shoe manu- 
facture. 



The handi- 
craft stage. 



40. Division of labor in colonial manufactures ^ 

If we were to contrast the productive methods of savages with the 
methods employed in some of the largest and most efl&cient factories 
of modern times, it would appear that there is no comparison between 
the productivity of the savage and that of civilized man. And yet 
the highly effective methods of modern industry are only two or 
three centuries old. In some of the manufactures of colonial days, 
for example, there was not a sufficient application of the principle 
of the division of labor, and certainly not enough in the way of indus- 
trial efficiency, to warrant a contempt for the methods of the savage. 
The relatively unproductive methods of colonial times may be 
illustrated by the boot and shoe industry in early Massachusetts. 
The early stages of this industry are described by Miss Hazard as 
follows: 

During the home stage in the shoe industry in Massachusetts 
shoes were made only for htunan consumption. There was no market 
for them. . . . The farmer and his older sons made up in winter 
around the kitchen hearth the year's supply of boots and shoes for 
the family, out of leather raised and tanned on his own or a neighbor's 
farm. . . . Each boy in turn stood on a piece of paper or on the bare 
floor, and had the length of his foot roughly marked off with chalk 
or charcoal. The shoemaker selected from among his meagre supply 
of lasts the one which came "somewhere near" that measure. There 
were only two styles, low shoes or brogans, and high boots. 

The second or handicraft stage came in the Massachusetts boot 

and shoe industry with easier times in each village in turn. It had 

been foreshadowed by the itinerant cobbler. Now the real shoemaker 

could stay in his own shop, working on his own or his customer's 

supply of leather. He dealt directly with his market in the first 

phase of this stage and made only ordered or "bespoke" work. . . . 

The number of master workmen in any one town was comparatively 

small, of course, in this "direct market" or "town economy" period, 

dependent as they would be upon the possible orders of a single 

community. Their journeymen went to the frontier settlements 

1 From Blanche E. Hazard, "The Organization of the Boot and Shoe Industry 
in Massachusetts before 1875." Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. xxvii. Feb- 
ruary, 1913; pp. 239-244. 



WHAT IS MEANT BY PRODUCTION 99 

to set up in the craft for themselves, leaving the supply of apprentices 
to fill their places in the future. ... 

There were times when the more advanced apprentices or even The manu- 
the journeymen spoiled a pair of shoes started for a definite customer, [fg^"j![^, °^ 
and these remained on the master's hands to be disposed of. Then "sale" 
there were slack times when the apprentices might fairly be expected ^^°^^' 
to "eat their own heads ofif," to the shoemaker's loss. In such a 
case the craftsman ventured to make up the stock on hand, to employ 
this otherwise wasting labor, and then tried to dispose of the shoes 
in the village grocery store. Since the market was uncertain and 
slow for this extra work, both stock and labor may frequently have 
been below the standard used in the custom-made shoes. . . . 

In case the shoemakers lived in villages too far from Boston to The case of 

attract customers, but near enough to send in their surplus product, 9"'"'^^, 

_ _ Reed of 

their attention to sale work would steadily grow. A seemingly typical Weymouth. 
case, with all its local flavor, can be followed in detail in the bills, 
letters, account books, and oral traditions of Quincy Reed of 
Weymouth. He expected to be a shoemaker just as his great-grand- 
father William, who landed in Weymouth in 1635, and his grand- 
father and father had been. In 1809 the father was a master with 
custom work and probably some sale work for local consumption. 
As Quincy tells the story: 

"My brother Harvey began it by taking chickens to Boston. His story. 
He had a pair of chaise wheels in the barn, and putting on a top 
piece, loaded her up and drove to town. He hung some shoes on the 
chaise and we sold them in Boston. All the shoes . . . before 
we began business, were carried into Boston in saddle bags. . . . 

"We hired a store of Uriah Cotting at 133 Broad Street and fitted 
it up. Then I used to keep a chest of shoes in a cellar near Dock 
Square and on Wednesday and Saturday would bring out the chest 
and sell. I got $15 and $20 a day by it in 1809. I was sixteen and 
my brother was eighteen years old then. We moved into the Broad 
Street store with two bushels of shoes. I used to cut out what would 
promise to be $100 worth a day. We couldn't have them made 
[as fast as that], but I could cut them. One day I cut 350 pair of 
boot fronts and tended store besides. Most of the shoes were made 
by people in South Weymouth. We had nearly every man there 



lOO 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



working for us before long. Used to bring out the sole leather swung 
across the horse's back in those days." . . . 



The 

Industrial 
Revolution 
in England. 



The mill 
at Beverly, 
Massachu- 
setts. 



Samuel 
Slater 
comes to 
America, 



41. Slater introduces power machinery into America ^ 

The foregoing selection traces, to a slight extent, the increasing 
efficiency of individuals engaged in the boot and shoe industry. 
While this type of development was going on in this and a number 
of other colonial industries, the invention in England of a series of 
remarkable machines was permitting the manufacturers of that 
country to make greater and greater use of natural power. The 
Industrial Revolution, initiated in England after 1750, gave that 
country a decided advantage in the manufacture of textiles and other 
products. This naturally increased the desire of American manu- 
facturers to set up machines similar to those in use in England. The 
following extract teUs, briefly, the story of how power machinery 
was introduced into the United States from England: 

It was at the period so prolific in inventions, and when the use 
of cotton had so increased in England, that the manufacture was 
commenced in the United States. The first [textile] mill was at 
Beverly, Mass. It had a capital of [about] $450,000, and was or- 
ganized in 1787, for the manufacture of corduroys and bed ticks. . . . 
The machines were very rude, inasmuch as the new inventions in 
England were then unknown here. 

Samuel Slater was an apprentice to Jedediah Strutt, the partner 
of Arkwright. He served his time, and when of age departed for 
America, where he arrived in 1789. In the following year, he entered 
into partnership with Almey and Brown to start a factory in Paw- 
tucket [Rhode Island]. 

Here, then, were put up, in the best manner, the whole series of 
machines patented and used by Arkwright for spinning cotton. There 
had been previous attempts at the spinning of cotton by water power, 
and some rude machines were in existence for spinning the rolls pre- 
pared by hand, in private families; but the machines that had been 
invented in England were entirely unknown here until put up by Slater. 



1 From One Hundred Years' Progress of the United States. 
1872; pp. 277-281. 



Hartford, Conn., 



W^AT IS MEANT BY PRODUCTION lOI 

Those machines were so perfect that, although put up in 1790, and sets up 
they continued to be used forty years, up to 1830, when they formed p^^^^ 
part of an estabUshment of two thousand spindles, w^hich still exists at Paw- 
in Pawtucket under the name of the "old mill." Slater's business t^^^^^t. 
was prosperous, and he amassed a large fortune. He died in 1834. . . . 

It is to be remarked that his business was confined to the spinning 
of cotton. This business, of course, spread as soon as it was found 
to be profitable. ... It will be observed that Mr. J. Slater got his 
mill into operation at the same period that the Federal government 
was organized under the new Constitution, a most auspicious event. 
The manufacture did not fail to attract the attention of the new gov- 
ernment, and Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of the Treasury, in 
his famous report of 1791, remarks: 

"The manufacture of cotton goods not long since established at Alexander 
Beverly, in Massachusetts, and at Providence, Rhode Island, seems Hamilton 

comments 
to have overcome the first obstacles to success; producing corduroys, upon the 

velverets, fustians, jeans, and other similar articles, of a quality signmcance 

01 ols-tcr s 
which will bear a comparison with the Hke articles brought from work. 

Manchester. The [milQ at Providence has the merit of being the 

first in introducing into the United States the celebrated cotton mill, 

which not only furnishes material for the factory itself, but for the 

supply of private families for household manufacture." . . . 

It may be remarked that down to 1828 the exportation of machines England's 

of all kinds . . . was strictly prohibited in England, for fear other ^-ttitude 

toward the 
nations should benefit by English mechanical genius, of which they exportation 

supposedly had a monopoly; . . . Mr. Slater, the "father" of °^ machmes. 

American cotton manufactures, was so closely watched at the English 

custom-house, that he could not smuggle over a drawing or pattern. 

He had, however, acquired a full knowledge of the Arkwright principle 

of spinning, and from recollection, and with his own hands, made 

three cards and twenty-two spindles, and put them in motion in the 

building of a clothier, by the water-wheel of an old fulling-mill. . . . 



I02 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Extent of 
the division 
of labor in 
American 
industry. 



Importance 
of the 
cattle 
butcher. 



Minute 
division of 
labor in 
the butchers' 
gang. 



42. An example of the complex division of labor ^ 

In an important sense, the division of labor in modern industry 
has developed along tvi^o lines: In the first place, men have in many 
cases divided up their labor so minutely that each man carries on 
by hand a highly specialized type of work. In the second place, cer- 
tain complex activities have been broken up into operations so 
simple that they need no longer be done by hand, but can be per- 
formed by machinery. At the present time, a considerable number 
of American industries exhibit a minute and highly complex division 
of labor, both among hand workers, and among machines operated 
by individuals. The stock-slaughtering business in Chicago, 111., 
is an excellent example of the complex division of labor among per- 
sons working primarily by hand. The following description is by 
Professor Commons: 

The cattle butchers' local unions number 5,500 of the 50,000 mem- 
bers, and of these about 2,000 are the most highly skilled of all the 
workmen in the slaughtering and packing industry. Their importance 
has brought to them the title of "butcher aristocracy." Their 
strategic position is explained by the character and expensiveness 
of the material they work upon. The cattle butcher can do more 
damage than any other workman; for a cut in the hide depreciates 
its value 70 cents, and a spotted or rough carcass will be the last 
to sell, with the risk of the rapid depreciation of a perishable product. 

The sheep butcher merely "puUs off" three-quarters of the hide, 
but the cattle butcher can ptill off only 2 per cent. The entire hide 
must be neatly cut off, leaving the "fell," or mucous covering, intact 
on the carcass, to give it a good appearance. The "splitter," too, 
must make a neat and smooth cut straight down the middle of the 
ivory-hke "fins" of the backbone, or the wholesaler cannot quickly 
dispose of the piece. 

Yet, notwithstanding the high skill required, the proportion of 

skilled workmen in the butchers' gang is very small, owing to a 

minute division of labor. It would be difficult to find another industry 

where division of labor has been so ingeniously and microscopically 

worked out. The animal has been surveyed and laid off like a map; 

' From John R. Commons, "Labor Conditions in Meat Packing and the Recent 
Strike." Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. xix, November, 1904; pp. 3-6. 



WHAT IS MEANT BY PRODUCTION 103 

and the men have been classified in over thirty specialties and twenty 

rates of pay, from 16 cents to 50 cents an hour. The 50-cent man 

is restricted to using the knife on the most deHcate parts of the 

hide (lloorman) or to using the axe in splitting the backbone (splitter); 

and, wherever a less skilled man can be slipped in at 18 cents, i8| 

cents, 20 cents, 21 cents, 22I cents, 24 cents, 25 cents, and so on, 

a place is made for him, and an occupation mapped out. 

In working on the hide alone there are nine positions, at eight Skill 

different rates of pay. A 20-cent man pulls off the tail, a 2 2|-cent specialized 
* -^ ^ . to fit the 

man pounds off another part where the hide separates readily, and anatomy. 

the knife of the 40-cent man cuts a different texture and has a 

different "feel" from that of the so-cent man. Skill has become 

specialized to fit the anatomy. In this way, in a gang of 230 men, 

killing 105 cattle an hour, there are but 11 men paid 50 cents an hour, 

3 men paid 45 cents, while the number getting 20 cents and over is 

86, and the number getting under 20 cents is 144. . • . 

The division of labor grew with the industry, following the intro- How the 
duction of the refrigerator car and the marketing of dressed beef, dJY^/°" 
in the decade of the seventies. Before the market was widened by grew with 
these revolutionizing changes, the killing gangs were small, since * "^" 
only the local demands were supplied. But, when the number of 
cattle to be killed each day increased to a thousand or more, an 
increasing gang or crew of men was put together; and the best men 
were kept at the most exacting work. 

At what point the greatest economy is reached was discovered by How the 

experiment and by comparison of one house with another. Each P°'"* 

greatest 

firm has accurate knowledge of the labor force and the output of economy is 
every other house, and in this way improvement becomes general discovered, 
and each superintendent is keyed up. Taking a crew of 230 butchers, 
helpers, and laborers, handling 1,050 cattle a day under the union 
regulations of output, the time required for each bullock is equivalent 
to 131 minutes for one man, from the pen to the cooler, the hide 
cellar, and all the other departments to which the animal is distrib- 
uted. But this is made up of 6.4 minutes for the 50-cent man, ij 
minutes for the 45-cent man, and so on; and the average wage per 
hour for the gang would not exceed 21 cents, making the entire 
labor cost about 46 cents per bullock. . . . 



I04 READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 

Questions on the foregoing Readings 

1. Define production. 

2. Why does Boehm-Bawerk say that man's role in production is 

modest? 

3. What is the relation of production to man's power to move things? 

4. Illustrate man's direction of natural forces with reference to the 

firing of a gun. 

5. Upon what does the effectiveness of production depend? 

6. Of what, according to Adam Smith, is the division of labor a 

consequence? 

7. Does the division of labor exist among the lower animals? 

Explain. 

8. What does Adam Smith mean by saying that we gain most of the 

things of which we stand in need, by addressing ourselves to 
the self-interest of other people? 
Q. W^hat, according to the economist, is the relation of the division 
of labor to civilization? 

10. Name some peoples who do not cultivate the soil. 

11. Who, according to Dr. Starr, was the first agriculturist? Why? 

12. What was probably the first and simplest tool used in primitive 

agriculture? 

13. Describe the process of threshing grain, as practiced among the 

Pueblo Indians of southwestern United States. 

14. What is the approximate age of the highly effective methods of 

modern production? 

15. Describe briefly the nature of boot and shoe manufacture in 

Massachusetts during the home stage of manufacture. 

16. What stage followed the home stage? 

17. Where was the first textile mill in JNIassachusetts established? 

18. Who was Samuel Slater? 

19. Describe the work of Slater in the United States. 

20. What was England's attitude toward the exportation of machines 

during the early part of the nineteenth century? 

21. Along what two fines has the division of labor progressed? 

22. What is meant by the " butcher rislocracy "? 

23. Why is there a small proportion of skilled workmen in a butchers' 

gang? 

24. Explain the statement that in the packing industry skill has 

been specialized to fit the anatomy of the animal. 

25. How do packing firms discover the point at which their labor 

force can be utilized with greatest economy? 



CHAPTER Mil 
EXCHANGING THE PRODUCTS OF INDUSTRY 

43. Relation of division of labor to the market ^ 

The result of the complex division of labor is that the output The dh-ision 

of the group or community is greatly increased. If one man working °^ '^^°'' '"" 

crc3.scs trie 
alone were to perform all of the operations of butchering a bullock, productivity 

the process might take him all day. But, as we have seen in the °' ^'^^ 

group, 
last chapter, butchering in a Chicago packing plant is carried on by 

a number of specialists who, by means of dividing up their labor 

minutely, are enabled to butcher an average of more than four bullocks 

per day per man. 

It is clear that the division of labor increases the amount of product but is 

per man, yet it should be remembered that it is not economical to "°"ted by 
f ' J the extent 

turn out this increased product unless there are purchasers for it. of the 

In other words, there must be an adequate market before the com- ™^''^<^t> 

plex division of labor is practicable. In the following selection, 

Adam Smith explains the statement that the division of labor is 

limited by the extent of the market: 

As it is the power of exchanging that gives occasion to the division as Adam 

of labor, so the extent of this division must alwa\-s be limited by ^^'^h 

pomts out. 
the extent of the market. When the market is very smaU, no person 

can have any encouragement to dedicate himself entirely to one 

employment, for want of the power to exchange all that surplus 

part of the produce of his own labor, (which is over and above his 

own consumption), for such parts of. the produce of other men's 

labor as he has occasion for. 

There are some sorts of industrj^ even of the lowest kind, which 

can be carried on nowhere but in a great to^\Ti. A porter, for example, 

can find employment and subsistence in no other place. A village 

1 From .\dam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of 
Nations. London, 1776. Book i, Chapter m. 

105 



io6 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Some in- 
dustries can 
be carried 
on only in 
a large 
town or 
city. 



Relation of 
water trans- 
portation to 
the division 
of labor 
and 



Character 
of the 
market in 
the inland 
parts of the 
country. 



is by much too narrow a sphere for him; even an ordinary market 
town is scarce large enough to afford him constant occupation. In 
the lone houses and very small villages which are scattered about in 
so desert a country as the Highlands of Scotland, every farmer must 
be butcher, baker and brewer for his own family. In such situations 
we can scarce expect to find even a smith, a carpenter, or a mason, 
within less than twenty miles of another of the same trade. . . . 
It is impossible there should be such a trade as even that of a nailer 
in the remote and inland parts of the Highlands of Scotland. Such 
a workman at the rate of a thousand nails a day, and three hundred 
working days in the year, will make three hundred thousand nails 
in the year. But in such a situation it would be impossible to dis- 
pose of one thousand, that is, of one day's work in the year. 

As by means of water-carriage a more extensive market is opened 
to every sort of industry than what land-carriage alone can afford 
it, so it is upon the sea-coast, and along the banks of navigable rivers, 
that industry of every kind naturally begins to subdivide and im- 
prove itself, and it is frequently not till a long time after that those 
improvements extend themselves to the inland parts of the country. 
A broad-wheeled wagon, attended by two men, and drawn by eight 
horses, in about six weeks' time carries and brings back between 
London and Edinburgh near four ton weight of goods. In about 
the same time a ship navigated by four or eight men, and sailing 
between the ports of London and Leith, frequently carries and brings 
back two hundred ton weight of goods. . , . 

Were there no other communication between . . . [London and 
Edinburgh], therefore, but by land- carriage, as no goods could be 
transported from the one to the other, except such whose price 
was very considerable in proportion to their weight, they could 
carry on only a small part of that commerce which at present sub- 
sists between them. . . . 

Since such, therefore, are the advantages of water-carriage, it is 
natural that the first improvements of art and industry should be 
made where this conveniency opens the whole world for a market 
to the produce of every sort of labor, and that they should always 
be much later in extending themselves into the inland parts of the 
country. The inland parts of the country can for a long time have 



EXCHANGING THE PRODUCTS OF INDUSTRY 107 

no other market for the greater part of their goods, than the country 
which hcs round about them. . . . The extent of their market, there- 
fore, must for a long time be in proportion to the riches and populous- 
ness of that country, and consequently their improvement must 
always be posterior to the improvement of that country. In our North 
American colonies the plantations have constantly followed either 
the sea-coast or the banks of the navigable rivers, and have scarce 
anywhere extended themselves to any considerable distance from 
both. ... 



44. Beginnings in American railway development ^ 

It follows from the above selection that an extensive market for Until the 

commodities is dependent primarily upon transportation. At the coming of 

time that Adam Smith was studying the relation of the market to the Amer- 

the division of labor, transportation by means of the railroad was ^^^^ market 

was a rela- 
unknown, and water transportation was not effective in reaching tively 

the interior parts of this country. As a result, the American market ^^.rrow one. 
for commodities was relatively a narrow one. It was not until after 
the first quarter of the nineteenth century that the American rail- 
way gave promise of greatly extending this market. The first im- 
portant railway in the United States was the Baltimore and Ohio, 
which opened to traffic in 1830. This epoch-making event is described 
by Mr. Reizenstein in the following passage: 
Upon the twenty-second of May, 1830, the first division of the The 

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad — thirteen and three-quarters miles BaUimore 

and Ohio 
long, from Baltimore to EUicott's Mills — was opened for the trans- opens to 

portation of passengers. The cars needed for general traffic, however, f""^®^ 

were not ready until early in June, but after that time the travel 

on the road was constant. By the first of October, 1830, the receipts 

were $20,012.36, although the road .had only a single track and was 

able to transport merchandise or produce during a few months only. 

The freight offered for transportation was about ten times the amount 

which the company was able to handle. 

* From Milton Reizenstein, The Economic History of the Baltimore and Ohio 
Railroad, 1827-1853. Johns Hopkins University Studies, Vol. xv, Baltimore, 1897; 
pp. 24-29. 



io8 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



This crude 
means of 
transpor- 
tation 



attracted a 
great deal 
of attention. 

The first 
steam 
locomotive 
was small, 
but fairly 
efficient. 



The opening 

of this 

railroad 

greatly 

stimulated 

trade and 

industry. 



The sight presented on that May day in 1830, upon the occasion 
of the opening of the first railroad worthy of the name in America, 
was far less imposing than that presented upon a similar occasion 
to-day. There were merely a number of small open carriages, much 
resembling the old-style stage-coaches, with wheels so constructed 
as to enable them to run upon the tracks. Horses were used to furnish 
the motive power. . . . 

The railroad, being the first of its kind in the country, naturally 
attracted much attention, and people came from considerable dis- 
tances to see and travel upon this new and strange road. 

The trial of the first steam locomotive on the tracks of the Balti- 
more and Ohio Railroad took place on August 25, 1830. The loco- 
motive, which was the first intended for railroad purposes ever built 
in America, was the invention of Peter Cooper. It was scarcely more 
than a model, weighing but a single ton, and was appropriately named 
the "Tom Thumb." . . . The boiler was a small upright one, about 
the size of a modern kitchen boiler; its cylinder measured but three 
and a half inches in diameter, and its speed was gotten up by gear- 
ing. In order to secure the necessary steam pressure, a sort of bellows 
was used, which was worked by a pulley and cord passing over a 
drum on one of the car wheels. This crude machine was able to ptill 
an open car of small dimensions from Baltimore to EUicott's MiUs, 
thirteen miles, in an hour and twelve minutes, and the return trip 
was made in fifty-seven minutes. . . . 

The extension of the railroad to the Point of Rocks had an immedi- 
ate effect upon that place. Several warehouses were erected; inns, 
dwellings and other improvements rapidly arose. The facilities for 
the transference of produce from the Potomac River to the railroad 
were ample, and the boatmen and farmers farther west resorted 
more and more to the Point of Rocks as the most convenient spot 
from which to reach the Baltimore market. It was stated also that 
every species of agricultural product, lime, timber of various kinds, 
and even paving-stones had been brought to Baltimore with profit 
to those making use of the road. In return, . . . plaster of paris, 
coal, boards, bricks and scrap iron had been sent into the interior. 
The existence of the road had also brought into use articles, in the 
sparsely settled country through which the railroad passed, which 



company. 



EXCHANGING THE PRODUCTS OF INDUSTRY 109 

had before been valueless to their possessors. Forests and quarries 
hitherto useless became sources of new profit to the owners. . . . 

On January 4, 1831, the company published a notice offering in 1831 a 
$4,000 for the most approved engine which should be delivered for ^ew^and 
trial upon the road on or before June i of the same year. . . . When efficient 
the time specified for the trial had arrived, three locomotives were f^f^![|^g^^^ 
submitted for competition. Only one . . . stood the test. It . . . by the 
weighed 3^ tons. It was mounted on wheels such as those on the |^^'J°^^^ 
common cars, thirty inches in diameter, and ordinarily made the trip 
between Baltimore and Ellicott's Mills, drawing four cars ... in 
one hour. . . . The success of this engine and the satisfaction that 
it gave in its regular use after its trial led President Thomas to re- 
mark in his annual report in 1832 that the engine was but "as the 
commencement of a series of experiments which will even more 
fully than has yet been done, prove the adaptation of steam and 
railroads to every part of our country and for all purposes of trade 
and travel." ... 



45. The nature and function of money ^ 

The development of adequate means of transportation and com- Importance 

munication has made possible the efficient transfer of commodities ? ^^^^^ 

^ m exchange. 

from places in which they are not wanted, or are wanted relatively 
little, to places where they are in greater demand. But while trans- 
portation widens the market for the products of industry, it should 
be noted that the actual exchange of commodities is impracticable, 
and often even impossible, until there is some device for measuring 
the relative values of commodities, and otherwise facihtating their 
exchange. The need for such a device has given rise to money, the 
nature and function of which Adam Smith has described in the 
following passage: 

When the division of labor has been once thoroughly established, Specializa- 
it is but a very small part of a man's wants which the produce of ^^°^ '^ ^^ 
his own labor can supply. He suppHes the far greater part of them the division 
by exchanging that surplus part of the produce of his own labor, ° ^ °''' 

* From Adam Smith, An Inquiry inlo the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of 
Nations. London, 1776. Book i, Chapter iv. 



no 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Specializa- 
tion implies 
an exchange 
of surplus 
products, 
but this 
may be 
difficult or 
impossible. 



Example of 
the butcher, 
the brewer, 
and the 
baker. 



In order to 
facilitate 
exchange, 
the idea of 
money has 
been de- 
veloped. 



Various 
commodities 
have served 
as money. 



(which is over and above his own consumption), for such parts of 
the produce of other men's labor as he has occasion for. Every man 
thus Hves by exchanging, or becomes in some measure a merchant, 
and the society itself grows to be what is properly a commercial 
society. 

But when the division of labor first began to take place, this power 
of exchanging must frequently have been very much clogged and 
embarrassed in its operations. One man, we shall suppose, has more 
of a certain commodity than he himself has occasion for, while another 
has less. The former consequently wotild be glad to dispose of, and 
the latter to purchase, a part of this superfluity. But if this latter 
should chance to have nothing that the former stands in need of, no 
exchange can be made between them. 

The butcher has more meat in his shop than he himself can con- 
sume, and the brewer and the baker would each of them be willing 
to purchase a part of it. But they have nothing to offer in exchange, 
except the different productions of their respective trades, and the 
butcher is already provided with all the bread and beer which he 
has immediate occasion for. No exchange can, in this case, be made 
between them. He cannot be their merchant, nor they his customers; 
and they are all of them thus mutually less serviceable to one another. 

In order to avoid the inconveniency of such situations, every 
prudent man in every period of society, after the first establishment 
of the division of labor, must naturally have endeavored to manage 
his affairs in such a manner, as to have at all times by him, besides 
the pecuHar produce of his own industry, a certain quantity of some 
one commodity or other, such as he imagines few people would be 
likely to refuse in exchange for the produce of their industry. 

Many different commodities, it is probable, were successively 
both thought of and employed for this purpose. In the rude ages 
of society, cattle are said to have been the common instrument of 
commerce; and, though they must have been a most inconvenient one, 
yet in old times we find things were frequently valued according to 
the number of cattle which had been given in exchange for them. . . . 
Salt is said to be the most common instrument of commerce and 
exchanges in Abyssinia; a species of shells in some parts of the coast 
of India; dried cod in Newfoundland; tobacco in Virginia. . . . 



EXCHANGING THE PRODUCTS OF INDUSTRY III 

In all countries, however, men seem at last to have been deter- but ulti- 
mined by irresistible reasons to give the preference, for this employ- '"^tely all 
ment, to metals above every other commodity. Metals cannot have pre- 
only be kept with as little loss as any other commodity, scarce any- ^^^^^^ 
thing being less perishable than they are, but they can Ukewise, for this 
without any loss, be divided into any number of parts. By fusion P^^'Po^^- 
those parts can easily be reunited again, a quality which no other 
equally durable commodities possess, and which, more than any 
other quaUty, renders them fit to be the instruments of commerce 
and circulation. 

The man who wanted to buy salt, for example, and had nothing How money 
but cattle to give in exchange for it, must have been obhged to buy '^.ciiitates 
salt to the value of a whole ox, or a whole sheep, at a time. He could 
seldom buy less than this, because what he was to give for it could 
seldom be divided without loss; and if he had a mind to buy more, 
he must, for the same reasons, have been obliged to buy double or 
triple the quantity, the value, to wit, of two or three oxen, or of two 
or three sheep. If, on the contrary, instead of sheep or oxen, he 
had metals to give in exchange for it, he could easily proportion the 
quantity of the metal to the precise quantity of the commodity 
which he had immediate occasion for. . . . 

46. Price as a measure of value * 

At the present time, therefore, a common method of exchanging The rela- 

goods is through the medium of money. The power of one good ^^°!^ 

to command another in exchange we call value. When the exchange price. 

of goods is effected through the medium of money, value is measured 

in terms of money. Thus when a man sells a horse for $500 and then 

buys a piano with this $500, he has exchanged the horse for the piano, 

through the medium of money. The value of both horse and piano 

is, in this instance, measured by thp $500. This $500, i.e. the measure 

of the horse and the piano in terms of the medium of exchange, is 

the price of each commodity. Price may be defined as the measure 

of value in terms of money. The importance of a common measure 

of things is discussed by Professor Gide in the following extract: 

* From Charles Gide, Principles of Political Economy. D. C. Heath & Co., 
1903; pp. 64-66. 



112 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Importance 
of a 
common 
measure 
of things. 



What a 
common 
measure 
enables us 
to do. 



How value 
is measured. 



To obtain a definite idea of the size, the weight, or the value of 
things, it is not sxifl&cient to compare them with one another. A com- 
mon measure is necessary. For measuring lengths the term of compari- 
son was originally a part of the body (foot, ell, etc.), and is now, 
according to the "metric system" introduced first in France, a part of 
the earth's circiimference (the meter, kilometer, etc.). For measuring 
weights, the term of comparison chosen in the metric system is the 
weight of a fixed volume of distilled water. The old or original 
English pound was derived from the weight of 7680 grains of weight, 
all taken from the middle of the ears and well dried; hence "grains" 
form the lowest fractional parts of a pound. The standard British 
pound at present is a piece of platinum preserved in the office of the 
Exchequer, at the temperature of 62° Fahr. . . . The yard, as the 
standard Enghsh measure of length, is the distance between two marks 
on a metal rod imbedded in the masonr}^ of the Houses of ParUament. 

A common measure enables us to compare two things in diferent 
places (which cannot be brought together for direct comparison), 
or to compare the same thing at (liferent times in order to ascertain 
what changes have taken place in it. By means of the yard-measure 
we can compare the stature of the Lapps with that of the Patagonians, 
and tell exactly how much taller the latter are than the former. The 
same standard of comparison, if it has not been entirely forgotten, 
in a thousand years wiU enable our descendants to compare themselves 
vnth. the man of to-day and ascertain whether or not mankind has 
decreased in statxire. 

In order to measvire value it is not sufficient for us to compare 
two values one mth another (as is done in barter), but we must 
take the value of some definite object as a basis of comparison. . . . 
It is ... a remarkable fact that almost all civilized people have 
agreed in choosing as their measure of values, as their standard, 
the value of the precious metals, gold, silver, and copper, but es- 
pecially the first two. They aU use a Kttle ingot of gold or silver, 
called a dollar, or pound, or franc, or rouble. To measure the value 
of any object, they compare it with the value of that small weight 
of gold or silver that serves as the monetary unit; that is to say, they 
try to find how many of these bits of metal must be given up for the 
commodity in question. If, for instance, ten are needed, they say 



EXCHAXGIXG THE PRODUCTS OF INDUSTRY II3 

the commodity is worth ten dollars, or ten pounds, etc. That is 
its price. 

The price of a thing is, therefore, the expression of the relation Price 
between the value of the thing and the value of a certain weight ^^^^ 
of gold or silver; or, to put it more briefly, it is its value expressed 
in money. . . , 

47. A provision market in a great city ^ 

Under modern industrial conditions it often happens that the Industry 
complex division of labor requires the bringing together of large ^^°^^ ^'^ 

^ . . concentrate 

numbers of laborers and other industrial agents. It is primarily be- in dties. 
cause of this necessity that there have grown up in the United 
States great industrial cities, in which large numbers of workers 
cooperate with one another under the control and superintendence 
of business men. The products of these specialists are carried to mar- 
ket by various agencies of transportation, and transportation in turn 
brings to the city most of the food which is in demand by the various 
classes of the urban population. The following description of a 
provision market in Chicago ^nll give some idea of the dependence 
of urban dwellers upon the mechanism of exchange: 

There is a street in the city of Chicago which is only five blocks The prod- 
long. It is said to be one of the busiest streets in the world. The yce market 

° in Chicago, 

perishable produce w^hich Chicago needs for its food is handled there 

ever)' day. . . . One should picture this short, narrow street, packed 

with thousands of wagons and automobiles which are coming in or 

slowly making their way out with the loads of farm products to be 

distributed to the stores throughout the city. The warehouses and 

sidewalks are filled vdih the produce for the day's sales. This produce 

has been coming in by the carload during the night, and the street 

begins to be busy at an early hour in the morning — in summer 

at daylight, in winter before. 

Each warehovise specializes in some particular class of produce. Here are 

One is devoted entirely to trading in cheese. One four-stor>- building ^'^^^''^ 

is filled \\-ith Spanish and Bermuda onions. Another has hundreds 

' From the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Education, Lessons in Com- 
munity and National Life. Washington, igiS. Series B, pp. 34-39- 



114 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



from all 
parts of the 
country. 



The 

"buyer" 
and his 
functions. 



Some ways 
in which 



of bags of potatoes piled from floor to ceiling. These come from 
states as distant as New Jersey and Montana. A number of cellars 
of these warehouses are filled with ripening bananas from Cuba 
and pineapples from Porto Rico. Fruit from California and Florida 
is the chief stock of other warehouses. . , . 

Many of the warehouses handle only fresh vegetables. These 
come from the truck farms around Chicago and throughout the 
Mississippi valley. For example, tomatoes are brought early in the 
spring from Mississippi, and as the season advances the supply 
comes from states further north. ... In hke fashion in the autumn 
it moves southward from Maine. The wide territory from which 
Chicago draws these perishable products makes it possible for the 
people of the city to have fresh summer vegetables at all seasons 
of the year. . . . 

The markets which we have been describing . . , would not 
be possible without the labor of a great number of people, some of 
whom are concerned with the distribution of produce to the con- 
sumer, some with bringing the produce into the city, others with 
securing it at the points where it is produced. . . . 

The man who comes into the most direct contact with the pro- 
ducer is the "buyer." ... He goes through a producing territory, 
making contracts with the producers for the whole or a stated portion 
of their output, or buying from day to day wherever he can secure 
goods at satisfactory prices. He keeps in close touch with his em- 
ployer, advising him by letter, telegraph, or telephone of the con- 
dition of the field and the outlook as to quantity, quality, prices 
demanded, and amount and character of competition from other 
buyers. In turn he is advised about the demand at the market and 
instructed as to how much to buy and what to pay. The buyer turns 
his purchases over to the transportation companies, who in turn 
dehver them to the market. . . . 

Goods may arrive at the city market under other conditions. 
Sometimes the producer ships his products to a commission mer- 
chant, who sells them for him. Sometimes selling associations of 
the producers send their products to their own representatives on 
the market. Producers in remote regions sometimes combine their 
shipments and send them in carload and trainload lots to the large 



EXCHANGING THE PRODUCTS OF INDUSTRY 115 

cities, where they are sold at public auction. The auction sale gener- 
ally takes place at railroad freight yards or at steamship piers. The 
commodities sold by auction are usually Umited to the citrus fruits 
from Cahfornia, Florida, and foreign countries, and the deciduous 
fruits, such as cherries, grapes, plums, peaches, apples, and other 
fruits from the West and Northwest. . . . 

When the goods reach the market they are handled by a number The 
of different kinds of traders. The most famiUar type is the retailer, retailer, 
whom everybody knows, because it is he who suppUes the family 
with the small quantities needed from time to time. . . . 

48. The advantages of exchange ^ 

There was formerly some discussion as to whether or not exchange The advan- 

were productive. It was said, for example, that exchange could *f^^^ °^ ^^' 

° change are 

benefit no one, for if an exchange is a fair one and the values of the no longer 

goods exchanged are equal, there can be neither gain nor loss on ^^'^i'^*^- 
either side. Sometimes, too, it was said that one party to an exchange 
of commodities was certain to lose, for how could anyone reap an 
advantage from exchange without the other party sustaining a 
loss? These arguments no longer carry weight, and to-day it is uni- 
versally agreed that the voluntary exchange of products is generally 
advantageous to both parties to the exchange. The advantages of 
exchange are outHned by Professor Gide in the following summary: 

. . . We shall state briefly the advantages of exchange from 
the practical point of view. 

(i) Exchange enables us to utiHze, in the best way possible, a Exchange 

large quantity of wealth which without exchonce would remain unused, ^'^^'^'f^ us 

to utilize 
Without exchange, what would England do with her coal, California wealth 

with her gold, Peru with her guano, Brazil with her chinchona bark? ^^^*;|j 

When analyzing the notion of wealth, we found that an indispensable otherwise 

condition of any object ranking as wealth was its capability of being ''^™^i" 

utilized. And in order that this may be effected, the article must 

be conveyed, by means of exchange, to the person who is to use it 

— the quinine to the fever patient, the guano to the farmer, the 

* From Charles Gide, Principles of Political Economy. D. C. Heath & Co., 
1903; pp. 198-200. 



ii6 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



It likewise 

enables us 

to utilize 

productive 

capacities 

which 

would 

otherwise 

remain 

inactive. 



The division 
of labor de- 
pends upon 
exchange. 



coal to the manufacturer. Suppose that exchange were suppressed 
everywhere, and that all persons and aU nations were obliged to 
keep all the wealth they possess. What an enormous mass of wealth 
would thus be condemned to remain useless, and doomed to 
destruction! ... 

In other words, we must regard exchange as the last of the series 
of productive acts that begins with invention (which is also an im- 
material act) and continues throughout the whole list of agricultural, 
manufacturing, and transporting industries, bringing products step 
by step nearer to their final destination, which is to come into the 
possession of the persons who will use them. These steps are changes 
of form, changes of place, and changes of ownership — aU three of 
which are equally indispensable to the attainment of the final result. 

(2) Exchange enables us to utilize in the best way a host of pro- 
ductive capacities which without exchange would remain inactive. If 
there were no such thing as exchange, each man would be compelled 
to produce all that is necessary to supply his wants. If his wants 
were ten in number, he would have to ply ten different trades. 
Whether he did this well or not would not alter the case; he would 
be obliged to regulate his production not according to his aptitudes, 
but according to his wants. With the introduction of exchange, how- 
ever, the state of affairs is completely changed. Everyone is[ then 
sure of obtaining by exchange just what he needs; every one, more- 
over, devotes himself to the production of those things which he 
can produce best. He regulates his production, not according to 
his wants, but according to his aptitudes or his means. Before the 
era of exchange, everyone was obliged to produce what he needed 
most; now everyone devotes himself solely to the production of what- 
ever he can most easily produce. This is a most important and 
wonderful progress. . . . 

If there were no exchange, association and division of labor would 
require a previous agreement among those who are to work in har- 
mony. What would be the use of the most perfect division of labor 
in an immense factory producing (let us say) hats, unless other persons 
were simultaneously producing food, shoes, houses, etc., to exchange 
for these hats? Exchange dispenses with the necessity for a pre- 
liminary agreement, and thus enables the division of labor to extend 



EXCHANGING THE PRODUCTS OF INDUSTRY 117 

beyond the narrow circle of the home and the workshop, and spread 
over the whole industrial community, reaching even to the extremes 
of the earth. 

Under a system of exchange, each man — no matter where he The results 
may be — produces according to his natural or acquired aptitudes °^ exchange. 
and according to the facilities offered by the region which he inhabits; 
he devotes himself entirely to one kind of labor, and always puts 
the same product on the market, with a certainty that the ingenious 
arrangements of exchange] will permit him to receive in exchange 
any other objects that he wants. It has often been remarked that 
the things which any one of us consumes in a day, are the combined 
result of the toil of hundreds or perhaps thousands of workers who 
are united one to another by invisible but none the less real bonds 
of association. 



Questions on the foregoing Readings 

1. Under what circumstances would it be uneconomical to increase 

the product of, say, a manufacturing plant? 

2. What does Adam Smith say concerning the relation of the division 

of labor to the extent of the market? 

3. Name some sorts of industry which can be carried on only in a 

large town or city. 

4. Explain the relation of water-carriage to the market. 

5. Why was the American market a relatively narrow one at the 

time that Adam Smith was studying the relation of the market 
to the division of labor? 

6. What was the first important railway in the United States? 

7. When was this railway opened to traffic? 

8. Describe the first steam locomotive used by this railway. 

9. What was the effect of the opening of this railway upon the ex- 

change of products? 

10. What is necessary to the effective exchange of products besides 

the division of labor and the development of transportation? 

11. Describe the manner in which barter clogs or embarrasses the 

exchange of products. 

12. Name some commodities which at different times, and in different 

countries, have been used as money. 

13. Why are metals more suited to be used as money than are other 

commodities? 

14. Give an example of how money facilitates exchange. 



Il8 READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 

15. Define price. 

16. What is the importance of a common measure of objects? 

17. How is value measured? 

18. Name an important cause of the growth of cities. 

19. What is the importance to urban dwellers of an efi&cient provision 

market? 

20. Describe briefly the provision market in Chicago. 

21. Describe the functions of the " buyer " for this market. 

22. What arguments were once advanced to prove that exchange is 

not a productive process? 

23. Explain how exchange enables us to utilize wealth which would 

otherwise remain unused. 

24. Explain how exchange enables us to utilize in the best way a 

host of productive capacities which without exchange would 
remain inactive. 

25. What is the relation of exchange to the division of labor? 



CHAPTER IX 

DISTRIBUTING THE INCOME OF INDUSTRY 

49. Distribution previous to the Industrial Revolution ^ 

The most difficult, as well as the most important, problem in The prob- 
the whole field of economics is unquestionably the distribution of f."^ ?} . 

distribution 

wealth. Ever since men began to combine in production there has become 
must have been some question as to what share of the joint product ii"Portant 

^ .... o^ly since 

each was to get. But though the problem of distribution is an the Indus- 
ancient one, it is only since the Industrial Revolution that it has ^,. ^^' 

' -^ _ _ olution. 

become of overwhelming importance. As recently as colonial times, 
indeed, the problem was not generally of great importance, as the 
following description of a colonial farm will show: 

In colonial times there was very Uttle trading. The roads were The colo- 
few and in poor condition. There were no railroads and no oppor- "'^ ^^^. 

'^ was practi- 

tunities on many of the farms to make use of boats and water trans- cally self- 
portation. People had to be independent, that is to say, self-suflicing. sufficing. 
The farm was not merely a place for raising hve stock, poultry, grain, 
vegetables, and fruit; it was also a manufactory of almost everything 
needed in daily life. The farmer and his family produced the raw 
materials and also made them into useful articles. 

Generally speaking, these articles included: (i) Wearing apparel Types of 
and household textile suppHes; (2) household implements, utensils, ^^^^^^ 
furniture, necessities, and comforts; (3) farming implements, build- 
ing materials, and general suppHes. A few things were purchased 
from occasional traders who came to the farm. A few things were 
purchased in the towns on the infrequent visits of the farmer to the 
more densely settled districts. Thus the scythes were made at the 
forge, and only the handles were made on the farm. Saws and axes 
were imported from England, or later from those regions where iron 

* From the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Education, Lessons in Com- 
munity and National Life. Washington, 1918. Series B, pp. 17-24. 

119 



I20 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



The home 
manufacture 
of furniture 



and agri- 

cuhural 

irriplements. 



Other 
manufac- 
tures. 



The making 
of clothing 
by the 
farmer 



was abundant and easy to secure. Not all metal articles were im- 
ported. The soft pewter metal which went into the forks and knives 
could often be worked into household utensils in the domestic fac° 
tory — the home. . . . 

The first settlers brought some furniture from Europe with them, 
but as they migrated inland it proved to be too bulky to move, so 
that the inhabitants of each new settlement were compelled to 
make within their homes such articles as tables, stools, cupboards, 
and bedsteads. . . . 

The farmer not only made his house and furniture from lumber, 
shingles, and nails of his own manufacture, but he had to make the 
implements with which to work his farm. These consisted of vehicles 
of transportation, plows, harrows, pitchforks, handrakes, shovels, 
ax handles, hoe handles, scythe-snaths, singletrees . . . and harness 
for his horse, if he chanced to have one. All manner of makeshifts 
were often necessary to supply some of these articles. For example, 
horse collars were made of corn husks; hames of crooked roots; 
clips, clevises, and laprings of hickory withes; ox yokes of bent hickory 
wood; traces and bridles of twisted deer hide, and pitchforks from 
forked boughs or antler horns. . . . 

Besides making the implements with which to till his farm, the 
farmer and his boys had also to make the tools with which the products 
of the farm were brought into condition for use. They made their 
own cider mills, cheese presses, spinning wheels, flax brakes, swingling 
knives, wool combs, looms, and implements used in making hominy 
and bread. . . . 

The hides of animals killed for food on the farm, or of the deer, 
squirrels, raccoons, rabbits, beavers, and foxes shot or trapped in 
the woods, were used for many purposes. Deerskins were made 
into hunting shirts, breeches, coats, leggings, and moccasins. Gloves 
and mittens were made from the skins of squirrels and beavers, 
caps from the skins of raccoons, bears, foxes, cats, rabbits, and wood- 
chucks. Bearskins were made into beds and bedding. From the 
deerskins and cowhides, moccasins, shoe-packs, and shoes were made. 
The preparation of the material and the making of all of these articles 
were done on the farm, the work being the duty chiefly of the men 
and boys. ... 



DISTRIBUTING THE INCOME OF INDUSTRY 121 

While the farmer and his boys were busy supplying leather clothing, and his 
the wife and daughters were manufacturing cloth to be used for ^^.mily. 
wearing apparel and as household textile suppUes. Cloth was made 
from cotton, wool, or flax. The making of these involved the prepa- 
ration of the raw material for the spinning wheel and loom, and 
bleaching and dyeing the finished products. . . . 



50. Distribution since the Industrial Revolution ^ 

Under the conditions described in the preceding selection the Distribu- 

problem of distribution was relatively unimportant. The farmer ^l"'^ ^ 

and the various members of his family cooperated in the production simple 

of many goods, yet the distribution of the joint product was an easy "n^der 

matter. In the first place, relatively few persons were involved, conditions. 
In the second place, the fact that these persons were bound together 
by family ties rendered easy a just and peaceable distribution of 
the products of their joint labor. 

But since the Industrial Revolution, fewer and fewer individuals. Effect of 

(or small groups of individuals), have continued to be self-sufhcing, the indus- 
" "^ . . trial Revo- 

and more and more persons have become involved in the complex lution upon 

division of labor. This change has brought many benefits, but it problem. 
has also rendered more difficult the just distribution of wealth pro- 
duced jointly. The problem of distribution since the Industrial 
Revolution is briefly outlined by Professor Carver in the foUowing 
passage: 

The problem of the distribution of wealth is the problem of dividing The 
the products of the industry of the community among the various ^'^? ?^ 
classes. The claim of each class to a share of the wealth is usually 
based upon the claim that each has contributed something to its pro- 
duction. The contribution may be labor, either mental or physical; 
it may be capital, or the results of foresight or investing; or it may 
be land which the owner has appropriated or otherwise come into 
possession of. . . . 

We are sometimes told that most goods are sociaUy produced. 
This is a rather impressionistic statement; it may do no harm, but 

' From Thomas Nixon Carver, Principles of Political Economy. Ginn & Co., 
1919; pp. 36s, 381-383, 385- 



122 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



and illus- 
trated by 
an example. 



The division 
of labor is 
of two 
kinds. 



The 

successive 
division of 
labor rela- 
tively un- 
important. 



Difficulty of 
the problem 
with respect 
to the con- 
tempora- 
neous divi- 
sion of 
labor. 



it is liable to misinterpretation. It would be better to say that most 
goods are produced by the joint efforts of several persons. The 
total reward which can go to all of them cannot in the long run 
exceed the total value of the finished product. This must be 
divided among all those who have participated in its production. 
The price of the loaf of bread must reward all those who have 
had any part in its production, including the baker, the miller, 
the various transportation agencies, and the farmer, as well as the 
manufacturers of the farmer's, the baker's, and miller's tools, and 
so on back to the lumbermen and the miners who extracted the raw 
material out of which the tools were made. . . . 

The division of labor [is] of two kinds: contemporaneous and suc- 
cessive. We have the successive division among the farmer, the miller, 
the railroad, and the baker, since, one after the other, they work on 
the same material. We have an example of the contemporaneous 
division of labor in the case of the mill owner and his employees of 
various kinds, the farmer and his hired men, the railroad company 
and its employees, and so on. 

The problem of distributing the price of the finished product among 
those who work upon the raw material in regular succession is simply 
a problem in the price of commodities. Thus, the reward of the 
farming comes to them in the form of the price of wheat. This 
price must then be distributed among the contemporaneous workers 
on the farm, that is, the farmer himself and his hired men. The 
difference between the price of wheat and the price of flour and its 
by-products must furnish the reward for the milling group, and the 
difference between the price of flour and the price of bread must 
furnish the total reward for the baking group. All this is fairly simple 
and leads to no serious social problem. . . . 

The great social problem of to-day, so far as it related to the 
distribution of wealth, is the problem of distributing the price of 
the product among the contemporaneous workers. Of the total 
price of wheat, how much should go to the landowner (if he is a differ- 
ent man from the farmer), how much to the farmer, how much to 
the laborer, how much to the capitalist (if he is a different man 
from the farmer)? Or, again, of the total spread between the price 
of wheat and the price of flour, which furnishes the total reward to 



DISTRIBUTING THE INCOME OF INDUSTRY 123 

the milling group, how much should go to the capitalist, how much 
to the owner of the mill site, how much to the manager, and how 
much to the various types of laborers? And so on through the trans- 
portation groups and the baking groups, the difficult problem is 
always that of the distribution of the total earnings of the group 
among the contemporaneous workers within it. . . . 

It simphfies the problem somewhat to classify those who take The four 
part in the contemporaneous division of labor according to the '^°']^ classes 
functions which they are supposed to perform. It is customary to take part 
divide them into four main classes. The first class is made up of the '° ^^^ ^°"" 
laborers, who work either with their hands or with their heads, and neous divi- 

receive their share in the form of wages or salaries (for the sake of f'^'^ °^ 

labor, 
simphcity, salaries are, in this chapter included under wages) ; the 

second class is made up of the land-owners who furnish the land and 
receive rent; the third class is made up of capitalists, who supply 
the capital and receive a reward in the form of interest; and the 
fourth class is made up of the independent business men, who under- 
take to assemble all the other factors, — who take the chief risks 
of the enterprise, and receive whatever is left over after all the others 
have been paid, and call it profits. . . . 



51. Some factors influencing rent * 

The matter of rent has given rise to a great deal of discussion Rent as an 
among economists. Conflicting theories have been evolved with tjj°"^|!^ 
respect to the relation of rent to wages, interest and profits. But given rise 
though rent as an economic theory is involved in much dispute, ? ^ ^J^^*" 
at least students of the subject are agreed as to the chief factors discussion. 
which influence the rent of, say, agricultural land. These factors 
are briefly outlined by Professor Bullock in the following passage: 

Rent, in the economic use of the word, is the return that is secured Rent de- 
by the owner of any natural agent.' The most common case is the fll^'^'! ^^'\ 
rent secured from land, but the rent of water privileges, dock facilities, 
etc., is an income of the same sort. Natural agents are reduced to 
private ownership when they become scarce relatively to the demand 

' From Charles J. Bullock, Inlroduction to the Study of Economics. Silver, 
Burdett & Co., 1900; pp. 399, 401. 



124 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Origin of 
the rent 
of land. 



The influ- 
ence of 
fertility. 



Importance 
of location. 



for them. Land became private property only when nomadic peoples 
settled down to agricultural life, and arable land became scarce. . . . 

The income received from natural agents may be explained by 
considering its most common form, the rent of land. Such rent 
arises out of differences in the desirability of various tracts of land, 
due to differences in location or in natural fertility. 

For agricultural purposes the natural fertility of land is important. 
Nature does much more to make some lands fertile than it does for 
others. Temperature and rainfall favor some lands. Some soils 
are far stronger than others, and can be used continually without 
deteriorating in the same degree. A plain has certain advantages 
over the slopes of a mountain, and land with a southern exposure 
is superior to land that slopes to the north. When land is once brought 
into cultivation, then the condition of the soil depends also upon 
the methods employed to preserve its fertility; but natural differences 
still remain very important. 

The location of a tract of land is important in determining its 
desirability for any purpose whatever. Agricultural land must be 
accessible to the market, and the rent secured from it will depend 
partly upon this consideration. Land used for residence purposes 
will be more or less desirable according to its accessibility, its health- 
fulness, and the beauty of its surroundings. Land used for the loca- 
tion of manufacturing or commercial enterprises must, above all, 
be accessible to the market, to means of transportation, and to the 
labor supply. . . . 



The pay- 
ment of 
interest is 
no longer 
considered 
unethical. 



52. Some factors influencing interest ^ 

In the Middle Ages some people thought that the payment of 
interest was unethical. One reason for so thinking was that since 
money is an inanimate object it cannot propagate itself in the manner 
that animals propagate themselves. For this reason, it was contended, 
a man who has loaned out $1000 has no right to demand back any 
more than this amount. However, this point of view no longer pre- 
vails, and to-day we say that the payment of interest for the use of 
capital is not only necessary but just, for the reason that with it the 

1 From Henry Rogers Seager, Principles of Economics. Henry Holt & Co., 
1917; PP- 269-272. 



DISTRIBUTING THE INCOME OF INDUSTRY 125 

borrower is enabled to produce more goods than he could otherwise 
have produced. In the following passage, Professor Seager discusses 
some of the reasons for variations in the interest rate: 

The most famihar ground for differences in the return from differ- The effect 
ent investments is the presence of monopoly. The monopohst de- °| monop- 
liberately restricts the output of the monopoHzed product so that 
the returns to the capital and labor he employs exceed those to be 
reaUzed in competitive industries. . . . 

Another cause of differences in interest rates results from the Risk may 

danger of accidental destruction to which some capital goods are f'^'^^ ^^^ 

interest 
exposed. Whenever this danger may be provided against by the rate. 

machinery of insurance, the difference figures simply in the larger 
replacement fund which must be earned in addition to current inter- 
est by the capital goods affected. In many cases the danger is too 
irregular and uncertain to be insured against , and the increased inter- 
est needed to attract capital into the precarious investment depends 
upon the temperament of investors. Conservative people will be 
deterred by the fear of loss from investing at all in such enterprises. 
More reckless and optimistic capitaHsts may be tempted into taking 
large risks by the promise of only a slightly larger return than the 
current rate of interest. 

In addition to the differences in rates of interest earned in differ- interest 
ent investments and by different kinds of capital goods, there are ^^^^^ ^^""^ 

among 

differences among different sections. Although much more readily different 
transported to the best market than labor, capital also is timid about sections 

... 01 the 

venturing too far from its source. Capitalists usually feel that they country, 
can better estimate the risks involved in investments near home 
than at a distance. 

In consequence of this feeling capital tends to be concentrated in 
the centers where men of wealth hve, and new and backward com- 
munities are able to command less than their proportionate share 
of the available capital equipment. 'Instead of there being one rate 
of interest on free capital in a country hke the United States there 
are a variety of rates, ranging from the low rates found in the large 
cities and the manufacturing sections of the North and East to the 
high rates prevailing in the agricultural and mining regions of the 
South and West. 



126 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



though such 
variations 
tend to 
decrease. 



A variation of from two to three per cent between the rates of 
interest regularly charged for equally good loans by banks in New 
York and Arizona roughly reflects the difference in the earning 
power of capital goods in the two locaUties. As the country's banking 
system is perfected and different districts are brought into more 
intimate business relations, the supply of capital will tend to dis- 
tribute itself more equally over the entire industrial field and such 
differences will become less marked. ... 



Social im- 
portance of 
the problem 
of wages. 



The effect 
of ease and 
cleanliness 
upon wages. 



53. Some factors influencing wages ^ 

A proper appreciation of the principles influencing rent and inter- 
est is an important concern of the student of economics. At least 
equally important is the matter of the share of the joint income of 
industry which goes to laborers in the form of wages. Indeed, some 
observers believe wages to be of more social importance than any 
of the other shares in distribution, first, because the wage-earners 
outnumber those who are primarily land-owners, capitalists or 
entrepreneurs, respectively; and second, because most laborers are 
dependent entirely upon their wages for their livelihood, while those 
who are primarily land-owners, capitalists, or entrepreneurs are, 
in a financial sense, in a less precarious position. Be this as it may, 
the social importance of the problem of wages cannot be denied. 
In the following selection Adam Smith discusses some of the factors 
influencing wages: 

First, the wages of labor vary with the ease or hardship, the clean- 
liness or dirtiness ... of the employment. Thus in most places, 
take the year round, a journeyman tailor earns less than a journey- 
man weaver. His work is much easier. A journeyman weaver earns 
less than a journeyman smith. His work is not always easier, but 
it is much cleanlier. A journeyman blacksmith, though an artificer, 
seldom earns so much in twelve hours as a collier, who is only a 
laborer, does in eight. His work is not quite so dirty, is less dangerous, 
and is carried on in dayhght, and above ground. . . . 

Secondly, the wages of labor vary with the easiness and cheapness, 



1 From Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth oj 
Nations. London, 1776. Book i, Chapter x, Part i. 



DISTRIBUTING THE INCOME OF INDUSTRY 1 27 

or the difficulty and expense of learning the business. When any The cost 
expensive machine is erected, the extraordinary work to be performed °^ training 

and educa- 

by it before it is worn out, it must be expected, will replace the capital tion influ- 
laid out upon it, with at least the ordinary profits. A man educated ^"^^^ wages. 
at the expense of much labor and time to any of those employments 
which require extraordinary dexterity and skill, may be compared 
to one of those expensive machines. The work which he learns to 
perform, it must be expected, over and above the usual wages of 
common labor, will replace to him the whole expense of his education, 
with at least the ordinary profits of an equally valuable capital. 
It must do this, too, in a reasonable time, regard being had to the 
very uncertain duration of human hfe. . . . 

The difference between the wages of skilled labor and those of An illus- 
common labor is founded upon this principle. . . . [Those desiring Oration. 
to become skilled laborers must first serve an apprenticeship.^ Dur- 
ing the continuance of the apprenticeship, the whole labor of the 
apprentice belongs to his master. In the meantime he must, in many 
cases, be maintained by his parents or relations, and in almost all 
cases must be clothed by them. Some money, too, is commonly 
given to the master for teaching him his trade. ... In country labor, 
on the contrary, the laborer, while he is employed about the easier, 
learns the more difficult parts of his business, and his own labor main- 
tains him through all the different stages of his employment. 

It is reasonable, therefore, that in Europe the wages of mechanics, 
artificers, and manufacturers, should be somewhat higher than those 
of common laborers. . . . Education in the ingenious arts and in 
the liberal professions, is still more tedious and expensive. The 
pecuniary recompense, therefore, of painters and sculptors, of law- 
yers and physicians, ought to be much more liberal: and it is so 
accordingly. . . . 

Thirdly, the wages of labor in different occupations vary with Wages vary 
the constancy or inconstancy of employment. Employment is much ^'^^ ^^^ 

constancy 

more constant m some trades than in others. In the greater part of employ- 
of manufactures, a journeyman may be pretty sure of employment "^^^^t- 
almost every day in the year that he is able to work. A mason or 
bricklayer, on the contrary, can work neither in hard frost nor in 
foul weather, and his employment at all other times depends upon 



128 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



the occasional call of his customers. He is liable, in consequence, 
to be frequently without any. What he earns, therefore, while he 
is employed, must not only maintain him while he is idle, but make 
him some compensation for those anxious and desponding moments 
which the thought of so precarious a situation must sometimes 
occasion. [Thus masons and bricklayers earn from one half more 
to double the wages of common laborers.] ... No species of skilled 
labor, however, seems more easy to learn than that of masons and 
bricklayers. . . , The high wages of those workmen, therefore, are 
not so much the recompense of their skill, as the compensation for 
the inconstancy of their employment. ... 



The busi- 
ness man 
stands at 
the hehn of 
industry. 



Qualities 
necessary 
to success 
in business: 

Imagination 

and 

judgment. 



54. Some factors influencing profits ^ 

We have briefly considered some of the factors which influence 
the payment of rent to the land owner, interest to the capitalist, 
and wages to the laborer. We have, last of aU, to notice some of the 
influences which help to determine the amount of profits going to 
the entrepreneur or business man. The business man receives the 
proceeds of the enterprise which he conducts, and in turn distributes 
the shares going to the land-owner, the capitalist and the laborers. 
What is left, over and above any other expenses which he may have 
incurred, he keeps as profits. Whether profits are large or smaE 
wiU depend partly upon the characteristics of the business man. 
The qualities of a successful business man are discussed by Professor 
Taussig in the following language: 

The business man of the first order must have imagination and 
judgment; he must have courage; and he must have administrative 
capacity. 

Imagination and judgment, — these are needed for the general- 
ship of industry. The successful business man must be able to fore- 
see possibilities, to estimate with sagacity the outcome in the future. 
Especially is this necessary in new ventures; and it is in new ventures 
that the qualities of generalship are most called for, and the greatest 
profits reaped. Countless schemes for money-making are being con- 



1 From Frank W. Taussig, Principles of Economics. The Macmillan Co., 1915. 
Vol. II, pp. 163-166. 



DISTRIBUTING THE INCO]\IE OF INDUSTRY 1 29 

stanLly urged on the business community, most of them visionary. 
Among them the captain of industry will pick out those that really 
have possibilities, will reshape and develop them, and bring them 
eventually to success. Sometimes he errs; there could be no great 
successes unless there were occasional failures; but the right sort of 
man has a handsome balance of profitable ventures. . . . 

Courage and some degree of venturesomeness are obviously Courage 
essential to the successful business man: so much follows from that ^^^ 
assumption of risks which is of the essence of his doings. But courage 
and imagination and personality will not avail in the end unless 
there be sound judgment. 

Executive ability is probably less rare than the combination of executive 
judgment with imagination. But it is by no means common. It ability, 
calls, on the one hand, for intelligence in organization, on the other 
hand for knowledge of men. The work must be planned, and the 
right man assigned to each sort of work. The selection of efficient 
subordinates is of the first importance. . . . 

A business man almost always has to do with the physics and 
mechanics of industry. Every director of large enterprises must 
choose between competing mechanical dev ces, must watch the course 
of invention, must be in the fore with improvements. ... In select- 
ing among the numberless projects constantly pressed on his attention, 
the business man exercises one of his most characteristic functions. 

Too much stress must not be laid on any enumeration of the busi- But no one 

ness man's qualities. All sorts and conditions of men prove to have K^^ opens 

the door to 

the qualities needed for pecuniary success, — the cautious and the success, 
daring, the sober and the enthusiastic, the loquacious and the taci- 
turn, those given to detail and those negligent of detail. The differ- 
ent aptitudes appear in every kind of combination. . . . No one key 
opens the doors to success. . . . The variety among the men who 
prove to have the money-making capacity is a standing cause of 
wonder. 

Among all these different sorts of persons, a process very like The proc- 

natural selection is at work. To predict who has in him the qualities ^^.^ ,°^ 

trial among 

for success is much harder than is prediction with regard to most business 
occupations. The aptitudes and abilities which must be possessed "^^"" 
by one who would succeed in law, in medicine, in engineering, in 



I30 READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 

teaching, show themselves at a comparatively early age, and a 
friendly observer can often give good advice as to the choice of these 
professions. But the qualities that make for success in business 
management not infrequently develop late, or at least show them- 
selves late and only under actual trial. Surprises are more common 
in this walk of life than in any other. A constant process of trial 
is going on. Those who have the requisites for success come to 
the fore, those who lack in some essential drop to the rear. . . . 

Questions on the foregoing Readings 

1. What is the most difficult and important problem in the field of 

economics? 

2. Why was it necessary for the people who lived on farms in colonial 

times to be self-sufficing? 

3. Name three classes of articles which were produced by the farmer 

and his family in colonial times. 

4. Describe briefly the making of clothing on the colonial farm, 

5. Give two reasons why the problem of distribution was not im- 

portant in colonial times. 

6. What, in brief, is the relation of the division of labor to the problem 

of distribution? 

7. What is Professor Carver's definition of the problem of distri- 

bution? 

8. What are the two kinds of division of labor mentioned by Professor 

Carver? 

9. In connection with which of these is the problem of distribution 

most important? 

10. Into how many classes is it customary to classify those who take 

part in the contemporaneous division of labor? 

11. Define rent. 

12. Explain the importance of fertility in agricultural land. 

13. Explain the importance of location with respect to land values. 

14. What was one reason why some people formerly objected to the 

payment of interest? 

15. What is the most familiar ground for differences in the return 

from different investments? 

16. What is the relation of interest to the danger of accident? 

17. Explain why the interest rate is different in different sections of 

the United States. 

18. Why is the question of wages considered by. some persons as 

being of more social importance than the question of rent or 
interest? 



DISTRIBUTING THE INCOME OF INDUSTRY 131 

ig. What examples does Adam Smith give to show that wages may 
vary with the ease or hardship, cleanliness or dirtiness, of work? 

20. Explain the principle upon which is founded the difference be- 

tween the wages of skilled labor and those of common labor. 

21. What does Adam Smith mean by saying that the wages of labor 

in different occupations vary with the constancy or inconstancy 
of employment? 

22. Explain the relation of imagination and Judgment to success in 

business. 

23. Is executive ability common or uncommon in business? Explain. 

24. To what extent is a business man concerned with the physics and 

mechanics of industry? 

25. Why should we not place too much stress upon any enumeration 

of the business man's qualities? 



CHAPTER X 



Nature of 
the capi- 
talistic 
system. 



The begin- 
nings of 
private 
property. 



Extension 
of property 
rights. 



BASES OF THE CAPITALISTIC SYSTEM 
55. The evolution of private property ^ 

We are accustomed to speak of capitalism as constituting an 
industrial "system." The term "system" is thus appHed because 
capitalism not only exhibits a considerable regularity of outline, but 
in addition shows a strong tendency to function in conformity with 
the basic laws of economics. The capitahstic system, as it may 
be called, is based upon certain fundamental institutions and prin- 
ciples. Of these bases of capitalism, the right of private property is 
one of the oldest and most important. The evolution of private 
property is described by Professor Gide in the following passage: 

At the present time aU wealth that can be appropriated — which 
excludes the air, the sea, running waters — may become the object 
of private property rights. In civilized communities almost all 
wealth constitutes some one's private property. This, however, 
has not always been the case. There was a time when the scope of 
private property was confined to a few objects. There is no doubt 
that at first it comprised only those kinds of wealth that in civilized 
countries have long ago ceased to be the object of property rights, 
namely, slaves and women. It also included objects of immediate 
personal use, — such as jewels, weapons, horses, — the individual 
ownership of which was evidenced by the custom of burying them 
with their owner. , . . 

Later, property came to include the home, — not as individual 
property, but as family property, — because the home was the 
abiding place of the household gods, and these gods belonged to the 
family. Still later, it extended to a portion of the land. . . . 

Different kinds of property have successively played a dominant 



1 From Charles Gide, Principles of Political Economy. 
1903; pp. 430-436. 

132 



D. C. Heath & Co., 



BASES OF THE CAPITALISTIC SYSTEM 133 

part in the history of mankind. Among pastoral tribes, cattle is 
the most important property; under feudaHsm, land; and in the 
era of steam, coal mines. Private property has, in our own times, 
been extended to a multitude of new objects of which our ancestors 
knew nothing. Among these are: (i) So-called invisible property; 
that is, credit claims or shares in the stock of industrial enterprises, 
represented by mere pieces of paper that can be slipped into a pocket- 
book, and which to-day constitute a most convenient and desirable 
kind of wealth; (2) works of Hterature, science, and art, which have 
become the object of property rights under the name of copyrights 
and patents. . . . 

So far as we can conjecture, the order in which the right of private Order in 
property successively acquired its essential attributes was as follows: ^"'^, ^"^ , 

attributes of 
(i) Probably the first property right was that of exploiting one's private prop- 
possessions, that is, making them yield something for the owner f"^^^ ^^^ 

have been 
by means of the labor of others, — formerly by the labor of slaves, acquired: 

and subsequently by the labor of free wage-workers (employees) .... '^^^ "f ^* 

•^ to exploit, 

(2) The right of gift, at least in the case of movable objects, seems the right 
to have been one of the oldest ways of making use of wealth and °^ ^'^*' 
anterior even to the right to sell. . . . 

(3) The rights to sell and to rent seem to have sprung up much the right 
later. In the fourth century before Christ, Aristotle declared that ^° ^'^'^ "'' 
these were necessary attributes of the right of property; but he 

does not seem to imply that they were generally recognized at that 
time. In fact, there are many reasons why they should not have been 
recognized. As long as property was vested in the family and bore 
the imprint of religious consecration — and this was the marked 
characteristic of antique property — the transfer of ownership was 
not sanctioned; at all events, it constituted an act of impiety on the 
part of any member of the family. Moreover, exchange and the 
division of labor did not yet exist; each family sufficed unto itself; 
movable objects of property were few in number. Hence every one 
kept these objects permanently; sometimes they were buried \v\ih. 
the owner. Under these circumstances, sale could be regarded only 
as an exceptional and abnormal act. Accordingly, when sale is 
first introduced, we find it solemnized by extraordinary ceremonies, 
and partaking of the nature of a public event. . . . 



134 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



and the 
right to 
bequeath. 



(4) The right to bequeath, which has always been regarded as 
the most important attribute and the crowning feature of the right 
of property. . . . [This attribute] was even slower in becoming a 
part of the right of property. This right, moreover, came into con- 
flict with the right of family inheritabiUty, to which we have already 
referred; and it obviously could not have been recognized until 
property had entirely lost its family character and become thoroughly 
individual. There is reason to beheve that even at Rome, where 
individual property was ultimately so vigorously developed, the 
father of the family did not have the right to bequeath until the 
estabHshment of the Law of the Twelve Tables (450 B.C.). . . . 
I When the right of property has acquired these four characteristics, 
it may be regarded as complete. . . . 



The con- 
tract and 
its purposes. 



Contracts 
may be 
oral or 
written. 



56. Types of business contracts ^ 

Another important basis of capitahsm is the obligation to fulfill 
contracts entered into voluntarily and in legal form. The complex 
division of labor has obliged the average individual to rely upon 
others for numerous goods and services which he does not find it 
possible or economical to supply for himself. Now, if individuals 
are to rely upon one another, it often becomes necessary for them 
to enter into definite agreements or contracts. The chief purposes 
of the contract are to render clear and definite the terms of such 
agreements, and to protect responsible persons against the careless- 
ness or dishonesty of the other parties to the contract. Because of 
the vital importance of contracts, all civilized countries have enacted 
laws which obhge persons to live up to the terms of contracts which 
they have agreed to voluntarily and in legal form. The following 
excerpts from a textbook on business law explains some of the more 
brief and simple forms of contracts: 

In ordinary business, most contracts may be oral in form, that is, 
by word of mouth. Such contracts are just as binding in law as if 
written in full. But with oral contracts mistakes are common and 
misunderstandings are numerous. They are always more or less 

1 From Coleman Hall Bush, Applied Business Law. Henry Holt & Co., 1920; 
pp. 120, 121-125. 



essentials of 
a contract. 



BASES OF THE CAPITALISTIC SYSTEM 135 

difficult to prove in court. Therefore, to avoid misunderstandings 
and to make proof certain, all important contracts should, whether 
required by law or not, be in writing. . . . 

The first essential of any contract is the presence of competent The six 
parties, and the second is the mutual agreement of these parties. 
Agreement arises from a meeting of the minds, or an assent to the 
same thing and in the same sense, and it must be with an intention 
of being bound by the obligation of the contract. The third essential 
is that the agreement must be free from fraud, mistake, or duress. 
Fourth, it must be based upon sufficient cause, price, or considera- 
tion, (fifth) to accomplish a lawful purpose. The sixth and last 
essential of a written contract is that it must be clearly stated. . . . 

Contracts arise from agreement, and agreements originate in some How con- 
form of offer and acceptance. In oral contracts the offer and accept- ^"^^^^^ ^"^^' 
ance are by word of mouth; after the agreement is reached it may 
be reduced to writing, thus forming a written contract. Agreements 
may also be reached by correspondence. Where the negotiations 
are in this form, the agreement of the parties and the written form 
of the contract originate at the same time. A written offer followed 
by an acceptance in writing . . . results in a contract ; these writings 
constitute the evidence of the agreement, and are, in fact, the written 
contract. 

Examples — /. Oral offer and oral acceptance An oral 

"I will sell you that cow for $500, and deliver her at your place 
not later than May 3d," said to B, as he pointed out a cow in his 
dairy herd. 

"Agreed," replied B, "I will take her at that price, and make 
payment on delivery." 

This oral agreement may be reduced to writing; if so, it will be The oral 

somewhat as follows: , contract re- 

duced to 

" THIS AGREEMENT between O and B, both of Cowlitz, Oregon, writing, 
witnesseth: 

" That 0, in consideration of the agreement of B, contracts to sell 
and deliver to B one full-bred Jersey dairy cow, registered and known 
as 'Jersey Lil,' the delivery to be made on or before May 3d, 1919, 
at the dairy farm of B. 



136 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



An agree- 
ment 

reached by 
means of 
letters. 



" That in consideration of the agreement of O, B agrees to pay to 
O the sum of Five Hundred Dollars, at the time of the delivery of the 
above described cow, this sum being in full payment of the purchase 
price. 

"IN WITNESS WHEREOF, we have hereunto subscribed our 
names, this 4th day of February, 1919." 

" (Signed) O " 

" (Signed) B " 

2. Agreement reached by means of letters 
Offer 

Troy, Minnesota, February 3, 1919. 
John Doe, 

Home Place. 
Dear Sir: 

I will sell you one hundred bushels of select seed wheat, No. i Dura, 
delivered at your farm for four dollars a bushel. 

Upon receipt of your letter of acceptance, I will consider the con- 
tract closed, and deliver as you may direct. 

Yours truly, 

Richard Roe 

Acceptance 

Home Place, February 4, 1919. 
Richard Roe, 

Troy, Minn. 
Dear Sir: 

I accept your offer of one hundred bushels of select seed wheat, 
No. I Dura, at four dollars a bushel, to be delivered at my place, 
March 4, "1919. 

Yours very truly, 
* John Doe 



. . . The foregoing letters constitute a valid written contract, 
and taken together, contain all the essential elements of a valid 
contract. 



The basis 
of compe- 
tition. 



57. The forms of competition ^ 

It has often been pointed Out that desirable goods and services 

are scarce, that is to say, their supply is small relatively to the de- 

1 From Thomas Nixon Carver, Principles of Political Economy. Ginn & Co., 
1919; pp. 37-42. 



BASES OF THE CAPITALISTIC SYSTEM 



137 



mand for them. And because there are not enough goods and services 
to go around, men compete for them. Professor Carver has enumer- 
ated the various ways in which men may compete with one another, 
and has pointed out that capitalism attempts to shunt individuals 
into the most useful form of competition, i.e. productive competition. 
The relation of this to other forms of competition he explains in the 
following passage: 

The forms of conflict, or the methods of struggling for existence, 
may be classified as follows: 



Methods or 
Struggling ' 

FOR 

Existence 



Destructive 



Deceptive ' 



Persuasive- 



Productive 



War 

Robbery 

Dueling 

Sabotage 

Brawling 
Thieving 
Swindling 

Adulteration of goods 
False advertising 

(Courting for royal favors 
Courting the sovereign people 
Campaigning for office 
J Polite social intercourse 
\ Courting 

Advertising 
Salesmanship 
_,.../ "Leaving it to the crowd" 

\ Litigation before courts 
Rivalry in producing goods 
Rivalry in rendering service 



Erotic ' 



Commercial 



... It will be apparent to anyone who will study the diagram 
that among animals the destructive and deceptive methods are the 
characteristic forms of struggle. They kill, maim, injure, rob and 
deceive one another with no moral or legal restraints. They may 
sometimes rise to the level of persuasion, as in the courting process, 
but never to the level of production; that is, no animal ever tries 
to beat its rival by producing a larger or better product or rendering 
a greater or better service. Among human beings who have no moral 
sense, and who are unrestrained by law and justice, the destructive 
and deceptive methods of struggle will be followed, as well as the 



Professor 
Carver's 
diagram 
of the 
forms of 
conflict. 



Competi- 
tion among 
the lower 
animals 
compared 
with com- 
petition 
among men. 



138 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Significance 
of compe- 
tition. 



Friendly 
competition 
is possible. 



persuasive and productive methods; but the destructive and decep- 
tive methods are precisely the things that morals and laws are designed 
to prevent. In any civilization worthy of the name, and under any 
government worthy to stand overnight, men are actually restrained 
by their own moral feelings, by the respect for the good opinions 
of their fellows, and by the fear of legal penalties, from attempting 
to promote their own interests by destruction or deception. . . . 

During the entire life of man on this planet he has had to struggle 
in one way or another. The reason why we are here to-day is be- 
cause our ancestors were successful in their struggles. . . . One 
reason why they struggled so successfully was that they were valiant 
enough to wage their fight with vigor and with spirit. That spirit 
we have inherited to such an extent that we cannot even amuse our- 
selves without some kind of competition or struggle. It is as the 
breath of life to our nostrils. It will be well for us if we can harness 
this spirit to productive work rather than allow it to waste itself 
in destruction, deception, or even in some fruitless kinds of persuasion. 
The nation which succeeds best in so harnessing this spirit to pro- 
duction is the nation which should normally grow rapidly in wealth, 
prosperity, and power. . . . 

In assiuning the universality and permanence of competition in 
some form it is not necessary to exclude such things as love, friend- 
ship, neighborliness, and cooperation. Competitors in a friendly game 
may be none the less friendly because they are competing. It is only 
when they care more for victory or the prize of victory than they 
do for friendship that there is any conflict between competition and 
friendship. The cure for this, however, is not the abolition of com- 
petition, but the learning to care for the right things and to evaluate 
things properly. . . . 



The growth 
of economic 
freedom. 



58. Kinds of economic freedom ^ 

The citizens of modern industrial countries are so accustomed to 
a large measure of economic freedom that this type of liberty is 
generally taken as a matter of course. And yet it is only a few 
centuries ago that business was impeded and repressed by numerous 



1 From Edwin R. A. Seligman, Principles of Economics. 
& Co., igos; pp. 165-170. 



Longmans, Green 



BASES OF THE CAPITALISTIC SYSTEM 139 

laws and regulations. In the Middle Ages, for example, the industrial 
activities of the individual were relatively restricted. After that 
period, however, economic freedom developed rapidly, until to-day 
it is one of the dominant characteristics of capitalistic industry. 
The various kinds of economic freedom are described by Professor 
Seligman in the following language: 

(i) The first and most obvious form of freedom is that of marriage The free- 
and divorce. . . . Freedom of marriage especially is a product of ^o^^.o^ 

marriage 

the modern economic life. Restrictions on the right of marriage and divorce. 
were in the Middle Ages an attribute of personal subjection, and were 
utilized as fiscal resources by the lord. Even with the advent of 
physical freedom, however, we find the right of marriage dependent 
on certain property qualifications, as in Southern Germany at the 
beginning of the nineteenth century. This also was merely a survival 
of aristocratic traditions, — like the still existing property qualifica- 
tions for marriage in the case of army ofiicers in continental 
Europe. ... 

(2) Next we have freedom of movement. In the Middle Ages the Freedom of 
right of internal migration was often restricted. Under the settle- n^ovement. 
ment laws in England, for instance, it was virtually impossible for 

a workman to leave his native parish. In modern times the growth 
of freedom has brought the right not only of internal but of inter- 
national migration. . . . 

(3) We come next to the freedom of occupation. The right of Freedom of 
choosing one's profession was in former times hedged in by all manner <^ccupation. 
of barriers. At its worst the system of caste and custom prevented 
progress because it put men into vocations for which they were not 

fitted. Freedom of occupation insures as far as possible the right 
man for the right place, and this leads to enhanced production and 
better distribution. The only restriction which modern society 
permits is the evidence of fitness, in those occupations where in- 
competence would imply irresponsibility and involve injury to others 
as well as to oneself. The certificates required from doctors, dentists, 
engineers, plumbers, pilots and the Uke are not a hindrance, but an 
aid, to true liberty. . . . 

(4) Another kind of freedom is the freedom of association. The Freedom of 
chief forms of association for economic purposes are combinations association. 



I40 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Freedom of 
consumption. 



Freedom of 
production. 



Freedom of 
trade. 



of labor and combinations of capital. . . . Even after the right of 
political and rehgious association had been won, however, combina- 
tions of labor were prohibited. Under the modern factory system 
such combinations have assumed the form of trade unions. It 
was not until 1824 in England, and considerably later in America 
and continental Europe, that the prohibition was removed. The 
legitimacy of union, as such, is now accepted because it is recognized 
that it tends to secure the real freedom of the laborer. ... In the 
same way the right of free association of capital in the form of cor- 
porations and other combinations has been acquired chiefly in the past 
half-century. . . . 

(5) The fifth category, freedom of consumption, needs only a 
word. . . . [When in modern society] it becomes desirable in the 
interests of the public health or safety to prohibit the use of certain 
commodities, like over-ripe fruit, or infected meat, or opium, the 
end is attained far better by a prohibition of sale, under the police 
power of the state, than by a restriction of consumption. 

(6) We come, sixthly, to freedom of production, including freedom 
of contract and enterprise. . . . The complex requirements of modern 
life have necessitated a governmental regulation of many business 
enterprises in behalf of producers, of consumers, of investors or of 
the general public. The difference between medieval and modern 
interference is to be found chiefly in the fact that the one sought to 
prevent competition, while the other endeavors to enlarge its domain 
and to raise its level. The only exception to the rule that rational 
modern interference is not designed to prevent competition is found 
in those few cases where competition itself becomes wasteful and 
inefficient. The modern aim, however, is always to increase liberty 
through the attainment of equality and responsibility. Factory laws 
give the operatives a fair chance; railway regulation attempts to 
secure equal treatment of shippers; supervision of banks, insurance 
companies and other corporations is designed to enforce financial 
responsibility. In all these cases interference is justified only as lead- 
ing to a surer and greater general hberty. We have to deal with the 
positive, not the negative, conception. 

(7) Finally, we have freedom of trade. This is virtually included 
under the last head, since trade is a species of production. . . . 



BASES OF THE CAPITALISTIC SYSTEM 141 

59. Production in anticipation of demand ^ 

Men engage in economic production in order to satisfy human Production 
wants, that is to say, because they anticipate that the goods being anticipates 
produced will later be in demand, either by themselves or by others. 
Even among savages, production pays attention to the probable 
future demand, but it is in modern industry that this anticipation 
of wants assumes its greatest significance. This is discussed by 
Professor Clay as follows: 

We enter a shop, pay ten shillings, and a shirt is given to us. The An example, 
shirt is the product of the labor of hundreds of people, the materials 
of which it is made were drawn from two or three continents, the 
machinery required to make it took months to construct; yet we get 
the shirt without waiting. For us to get it the shopkeeper must have 
stocked shirts, for him to do so the wholesaler with whom he deals 
must have stocked shirts, for the wholesaler to do so some one must 
have manufactured shirts, some one have manufactured the flannel 
from which they are made and the thread with which they are sewn, 
and further back still, some one must have made the machinery with 
which all these manufacturers work. That is to say, in anticipation 
of our want of a shirt, a complex organization must have been 
at work for months and perhaps years before we announced our 
want. . . . 

We bought a woollen shirt; suppose we had wanted a cotton one. The 

The retailer v/ould probably have been able to supply us. The ^'^'^'^P'^ 

extended, 
demand for the different kinds of shirts is fairly steady, and it is the 

retailer's business to know what to stock. But multiply our case 

a thousandfold, and suppose he has not anticipated our wants so 

exactly. What is the result then? First, he has woollen shirts which 

are not wanted, and all the series of people behind the counter, who 

have been contributing to the making of his woollen shirts, have 

been making something which, as it happens, is not the thing wanted. 

Secondly, the shopkeeper, being unable to sell woollen shirts, orders 

fewer, and this check to the demand for woollen shirts is transmitted 

right through to the people who grow wool and make woollen-working 

machinery. 

1 Froin Henry Clay, Economics for the General Reader. The Macmillan Co., 
1917; pp. 68-71. 



142 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Why pro- 
duction in 
anticipation 
of demand 
is inevitable. 



The process 
of anticipat- 
ing demand 
involves 
risk. 



This risk 
borne 
chiefly by 
the entre- 
preneur. 



Meanwhile, we, in our determination to get a cotton shirt, leave 
the shop and go elsewhere for it, and the shopkeeper telegraphs to 
his wholesaler for a supply of cotton shirts at the same moment as 
we at another shop are asking for a cotton shirt. Imagine a thousand 
people acting as we are acting, and the people whose business it is 
to supply cotton shirts will get the impression that there is going to 
be an increased demand for cotton shirts and will place their orders 
accordingly. . . . 

Production is carried on in anticipation of demand. This is in- 
evitable if we are to avail ourselves of the economies of specialization, 
since specialization takes time. When we purchased the woollen 
shirt we were getting goods from the Australian sheep farmer, from 
the American cotton grower, from a whole host of machine-makers, 
builders, transport workers and others, who could not possibly have 
known of our existence nor anticipated for themselves what we 
should want. 

Again, all the processes of manufacture must be carried on simul- 
taneously. The growing of the wool, the spinning, the weaving, the 
shirt-making, and the distributing by merchants and shopkeepers 
must be going on continuously and simultaneously, or a large number 
of people and a large amount of capital would be unemployed. , . . 

Production is carried on ahead of demand on an estimate of it. 
Working on an estimate necessarily involves the risk of loss when 
a wrong estimate has been made, and every class in the community 
has to some extent to meet this risk and bear a share of this loss. 
The consumer suffers because he does not get what he wants, or has 
to pay a high price for what he wants; the worker suffers because 
his specialized skill may suddenly lose its value. 

But the chief risk is borne by the class of organizers. . . . They 
take the first and chief loss if something is made which turns out not 
to be wanted. This is so because they have paid for the making of 
the thing before they could find out that it is not wanted; in return, 
they take the profit if their estimate of what is wanted turns out to 
be correct, so that they are able to offer the public just what it wants 
and is willing to pay for it handsomely. . . . The French term for 
the person who [thus]] organizes production [is] entrepreneur, which 
implies undertaking production for the market with its attendant risks. 



BASES OF THE CAPITALISTIC SYSTEM 143 

60. The inequality of wealth ^ 

The business of the world is carried on chiefly under the capitalistic Capitalistic 
system. The outstanding merit of this system is that it has greatly development 

. . has been 

increased the amount of consumable goods m existence, and at the accompanied 
same time has markedly decreased the cost of production of the ^^ *^*^ 

mequality 

necessities of Hfe. But the development of the capitalistic system of wealth. 
has likewise brought with it serious evils. Of these evils the most 
important, at least from the social standpoint, is the inequality of 
wealth. In the following passage Professor Taussig has attempted 
to summarize this important but difficult subject: 

The overshadowing fact in the distribution of property and in- Questions 
come is inequality. How great is the inequality, and what are its *° ^^ 

answered. 

causes? 

In view of the enormous interest of this topic, the meagemess of Lack of 
our information is surprising. Statistics based on income tax returns '^^*^- 
supply data that may be considered accurate; but they exist for a 
few countries only. . . . For most countries, including the United 
States, we have no precise information whatever. 

Nevertheless, familiar observation, supported and supplemented Distribution 

by such figures as we have, suffices not only to assure us of the fact ^^^ '^ ^""^ 

like that of 
of inequality, but to show its general range and character. We an inverted 

know that the number of the rich is very small; that the number p^^ *°p- 

of persons who are well-to-do and comfortable, though considerably 

larger, is still small; and that the persons with slender incomes are 

the most numerous of all. With only.one exception of importance . . . 

distribution, both of wealth and income, has a form roughly pyramidal. 

To put the analogy more carefully, its form is hke that of an inverted 

peg top, — the lowest range small, then a very large extension, and 

thereafter steady shrinkage as the highest point is approached. . . , 

Such are the broad facts as to inequahty. How are they to be 
explained? ... 

The causes of inequality are reducible to two, — inborn differences The two 
in gifts, and the maintenance of acquired advantages through environ- causes of 
ment and through the inheritance of property. The origin of in- 

• From Frank W. Taussig, Principles of Economics. The Macmillan Co., 1915. 
Vol. II, pp. 238, 246-248. 



144 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



(i) 
Inborn 
differences 
in gifts, and 



(2) 
the main- 
tenance of 
acquired 
advantages. 



Importance 
of inherit- 
ance. 



An ex- 
ample: the 
money-mak- 
ing business 
man. 



equality is to be found in the unequal endowments of men; its per- 
petuation in the influence of the inheritance both of property and 
opportunity, and also in the continued influence of native abiUty 
transmitted from ancestor to descendant. 

No doubt at the outset all differences arose from the inborn superi- 
ority of some men over others. The savage chief excels his fellows 
in strength and in cunning. Throughout history the strong and 
able have come to the fore. They continue to do so in the peaceful 
rivalry of civilized communities. In our present society, the differ- 
ences in wages — that is, in the incomes from all sorts of labor — are 
the results, in large degree at least, of differences in endowments. . . . 

But at a very early stage in the development of society, this original 
cause of difference is modified, often thrust aside, by the perpetuation 
of estabhshed advantages. ... In the supposedly free and com- 
petitive society of modern times, advantage still tends to maintain 
itself. It does so in two ways, — through the influence of environ- 
ment and opportunity, and through the inheritance of property. 
Environment and opportunity have already been considered. . . . 

More important, however, is the direct inheritance of property. 
Its influence is enormous. Obviously, this alone explains the per- 
petuation of "funded" incomes, — those derived from capital, land, 
income-yielding property of all sorts, — and so explains the great 
continuing gulf between the haves and the have-nots. It serves also 
to strengthen all the lines of social stratification, and to reinforce 
the influences of custom and habit. Persons who inherit property 
inherit also opportunity. They have a better start, a more stimu- 
lating environment, a higher ambition. They are Ukely to secure 
higher incomes, and to preserve a higher standard of living by late 
marriages and few offspring. . . . 

Nothing illustrates so fuUy the combined influence of inborn 
gifts, of property inheritance, of perpetuated environment, as the 
position of the person dominant in modern society, — the money- 
making business man. In the first stages of any individual business 
man's career, the possession of means counts for much. After the 
initial stage, native abihty tells more and more. By whatever ways 
he gets his start, the leader of industry prospers and accumulates; 
and, as he accumulates, is again favored more and more by large 



BASES OF THE CAPITALISTIC SYSTEM 145 

possessions. When he dies, he leaves a trail of descendants, who 
perhaps inherit ability and almost certainly inherit property. 
With property they inherit a new environment and new opportunities. 
It may indeed happen that the property wiU be dissipated through 
lack of thrift or judgment, or subdivided among heirs into minute 
portions. But neither of these results is probable; and even if they 
occur, the descendants have ambitions and surroundings very differ- 
ent from those of the poorer class from which the ancestor may have 
sprung. In every way inequaUties, even through they arise at the 
outset without favor, tend to be perpetuated by inheritance and 
envirorunent. 



Questions on the foregoing Readings 

1. Why is capitalism said to constitute an industrial system? 

2. What were probably the earliest forms of private property? 

3. What form of property is important among pastoral peoples? 

Under feudalism? In the era of steam? 

4. Trace briefly the order in which the right of private property 

probably acquired its essential attributes. 

5. When may the right of private property be regarded as complete? 

6. Why are contracts necessary in modern industry? 

7. Name two forms of contracts. 

8. What are the six essentials of a contract? 

9. Explain how a contract may arise by word of mouth. 

10. Explain how a contract may arise by correspondence. 

11. Why do men compete for goods and services? 

12. Under what general heads has Professor Carver classified the 

methods of struggling for existence? 

13. What can be said as to the universal nature of competition? 

14. Why do we tend to take economic freedom as a matter of course? 

15. Outhne briefly the seven kinds of economic freedom described by 

Professor Seligman. 

16. Which of these appears to you to be the most important from the 

standpoint of national prosperity? Which least important? 

17. What is the aim of modern governments, with respect to inter- 

fering with competition? 

1 8. Under what conditions does the anticipation of wants assume its 

greatest significance? 

19. Why is an individual generally able to go into a shop and purchase 

a shirt, without having to wait for that shirt to be made? 



146 READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 

20. What class assumes the chief risk in estimating the future demand 

for goods? 

21. What is the outstanding merit of capitalism? 

22. What, from the social standpoint, is the most serious evil which 

has accompanied the development of capitalism? 

23. What does Professor Taussig mean by saying that the distribution 

of wealth and income has a form like that of an inverted peg 
top? 

24. What are the two causes of the inequality of wealth? 

25. Illustrate the influence of these causes with respect to the position 

of the " money-making business man." 



b. Programs of Industrial Reform 

CHAPtER XI 

SINGLE TAX 

61. The persistence of poverty in modern life ^ 

By single tax is meant a policy under which all public revenue is The single 

to be raised by a single tax on land value. Land value is defined *^^ defined. 

as the value of the land itself, irrespective of all improvements. This 

means that land value includes only two elements: location value 

and fertihty value. The basic idea of the single tax is an old one, 

but the modern single tax movement owes its origin to the activities 

of an American reformer, Henry George. In 1879 George pubHshed Henry 

Gcor£c« 
a remarkable book. Progress and Poverty, in which he expounded his 

doctrine. In the following extract from Progress and Poverty, George 
points out that in spite of the progress of the world, poverty persists: 

In every direction, the direct tendency of advancing civiUzation The pro- 
is to increase the power of human labor to satisfy human desires — to power of 
extirpate poverty, and to banish want and the fear of want. . . . labor has 

steadily 

The growth of population, the mcrease and extension of exchanges, increased, 

the discoveries of science, the march of invention, the spread of 

education, the improvement of government, and the ameUoration 

of manners, considered as material forces, have all a direct tendency 

to increase the productive power of labor — not of some labor, 

but of all labor; not in some departments of industry, but in all 

departments. . . . 

But labor cannot reap the benefits which advancing civihzation ^"^ wages 
11-1 , • , do not 

thus brings, because they are intercepted. Land being necessary increase 

to labor, and being reduced to private ownership, every increase 

in the productive power of labor but increases rent — the price that 

labor must pay for the opportunity to utilize its powers; and thus 

all the advantages gained by the march of progress go to the owners 

> From Henry George, Progress and Poverty. Appleton & Co., New York, 1879. 
Book V, Chapter 11. 

147 



148 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



because 
labor is de- 
prived of 
its fruits. 



This con- 
dition 
universal. 



of land, and wages do not increase. Wages cannot increase; for the 
greater the earnings of labor the greater the price that labor must 
pay out of its earnings for the opportunity to make any earnings 
at all. . . . 

And thus robbed of all the benefits of the increase in productive 
power, labor is exposed to certain effects of advancing civilization, 
which, without the advantages that naturally accompany them, 
are positive evUs, and of themselves tend to reduce the free laborer 
to the helpless and degraded condition of the slave. . . . 

Look over the world to-day. In countries the most widely differing 
— under conditions the most diverse as to government, as to indus- 
tries, as to tariffs, as to currency — you will find distress among the 
working classes; but everywhere that you thus find distress and 
destitution in the midst of wealth you will find that the land is monop- 
olized; that instead of being treated as the common property of the 
whole people, it is treated as the private property of individuals; 
that, for its use by labor, large revenues are extorted from the 
earnings of labor. . . . 



George 
rejects a 
number of 
proposed 
remedies for 
poverty, 
and pro- 
poses the 
"true 
remedy," 



62. The remedy proposed by Henry George ^ 

After pointing out that poverty persists despite the progress of the 
world, George discusses six of the remedies for poverty which were 
advocated in his day. These are (i) greater economy in govern- 
ment; (2) the education of the working classes and dissemination 
of the principles of thrift; (3) the trade union movement ; (4) "the 
cooperation of labor and capital"; (5) governmental regulation 
of industry; and (6) a more general distribution of land. After 
a short discussion of these so-called remedies for poverty, he con- 
cludes that all of them are either "inefficacious or impracticable." 
He then announces as "the true remedy" for poverty the abolition 
of private property in land. He continues the discussion in the follow- 
ing language: 

We have reached this conclusion by an examination in which 
every step has been proved and secured. In the chain of reasoning 

1 From Henry George, Progress and Poverty. Appleton & Co. Book VI, 
Chapter 11. Book vii. Chapter i. 



SINGLE TAX 149 

no link is wanting and no link is weak. Deduction and induction which con- 
have brought us to the same truth — that the unequal ownership ^^*\^"^™'*^" 
of land necessitates the unequal distribution of wealth. And as common 
in the nature of things unequal ownership of land is inseparable Property. 
from the recognition of individual property in land, it necessarily 
follows that the only remedy for the unjust distribution of wealth 
is in making land common property. ... 

The institution of private property ... [in land] cannot be The insti- 

defended on the score of justice. The equal right of all men to the ^^}^^^ ^f 

•' _ , _ private prop- 

use of land is as clear as their equal right to breathe the air — it is erty in 

a right proclaimed by the fact of their existence. For we cannot ^'^".^ *® 

suppose that some men have a right to be in this world and others 

no right. 

If we are all here by the equal permission of the Creator, we are Arguments 
all here with an equal title to the enjoyment of His bounty — with '^^^'^iiced 
an equal right to the use of aU that Nature so impartially offers. This 
is a right which is natural and inahenable; it is a right which vests 
in every human being as he enters the world, and which during 
his continuance in the world can be Umited only by the equal rights 
of others. ... 

There is on earth no power which can rightfully make a grant in support 

of exclusive ownership in land. If all existing men were to unite . 

view. 

to grant away their equal rights, they cotild not grant away the right 
of those who follow them. For what are we but tenants for a day? 
Have we made the earth, that we should determine the rights of 
those who after us shall tenant it in their turn? The Almighty, 
who created the earth for man and man for the earth, has entailed it 
upon all the generations of the children of men by a decree written 
upon the constitution of all things — a decree which no human action 
can bar and no prescription determine. Let the parchments be 
ever so many, or possession ever so long, natural justice can recognize 
no right in one man to the possession and enjoyment of land that 
is not equally the right of all his fellows. . . . 

The recognition of individual proprietorship of land is the denial Basic 
of the natural rights of other individuals — it is a wrong which must ^^^ . 
show itself in the inequitable division of wealth. For as labor cannot distribution 
produce without the use of land, the denial of the equal right to the ^^ wealth. 



ISO 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



use of land is necessarily the denial of the right of labor to its own 
produce. ... To this fundamental wrong we have traced the unjust 
distribution of wealth which is separating modern society into the 
very rich and the very poor. ... 



Nature of 
the single 
tax, as 
proposed 
by George. 



The single 
tax would 
encourage 
production, 



render 
possible a 
more equal 
distribution 
of wealth, 



63. Results claimed for the single tax^ 

After advancing arguments to substantiate his claim that the 
private ownership of land is imjust, George next considers the best 
means of applying his " remedy." His proposal is to allow individuals 
to retain possession of "their" land, but to confiscate land value by 
taxation. He further proposes to abolish aU other taxes, thus making 
the tax on land value a single tax. This single tax is to take aU land 
value for the benefit of the community, and is to be the source of 
all pubUc revenue. George advanced the following claims for the 
single tax: 

To abolish the taxation which, acting and reacting, now hampers 
every wheel of exchange and presses upon every form of industry, 
would be like removing an immense weight from a powerful spring. 
Imbued with fresh energy, production would start into new life, and 
trade would receive a stimulus which would be felt to the remotest 
arteries. ... All would be free to make or to save, to buy or to seU, 
unfined by taxes, unannoyed by the tax-gatherer. Instead of say- 
ing to the producer, as it does now, "The more you add to the 
general wealth the more shall you be taxed!" the state would say 
to the producer, "Be as industrious, as thrifty, as enterprising as 
you choose, you shall have your full reward! You shaU not be fined 
for making two blades of grass grow where one grew before; you 
shaU not be taxed for adding to the aggregate wealth." . . . 

[The single tax would also have a desirable effect upon the distri- 
bution of wealth.] ... If it went so far as to take in taxation 
the whole of rent, the cause of inequality would be totally destroyed. 
Rent, instead of causing inequality, as now, would then promote 
equaUty. Labor and capital would then receive the whole prod- 
uce, minus that portion taken by the state in the taxation of land 



^ From H.enry George, Progress and Poverty. 
Chapters i, ii, and iv. Book viii, Chapter ii. 



Appleton & Co. Book ix. 



SINGLE TAX 151 

values, which, being applied to public purposes, would be equally 
distributed in public benefits. 

That is to say, the wealth produced in every community would be 
divided in wages and interest between individual producers, according 
to the part each had taken in the work of production; the other part 
would go to the community as a whole, to be distributed in public 
benefits to all its members. In this all would share equally — the 
weak with the strong, young children and decrepit old men, the 
maimed, the halt, and the blind, as well as the vigorous. . . . 

[The single tax would work great improvements in social organiza- improve 
tion and social Ufe.3 Noticeable among these is the great simpHcity government, 
which would become possible in government. To collect taxes, 
to prevent and punish evasions, to check and counter-check revenues 
drawn from so many distinct sources, now make up probably 
three-fourths, perhaps seven-eighths of the business of govern- 
ment, outside of the preservation of order, the maintenance of the 
mihtary arm, and the administration of justice. An immense and 
complicated network of governmental machinery would thus be dis- 
pensed with. 

In the administration of justice there would be a hke saving of facilitate 

strain. Much of the civil business of our courts arises from disputes ^^^ adminis- 
tration of 
as to ownership of land. These would cease when the state was civil and 

virtually acknowledged as the sole owner of land, and all occupiers criminal 
became practically rent-paymg tenants. . . . The rise of wages, 
the opening of opportunities for all to make an easy and comfortable 
living, would at once lessen and would soon eUminate from society 
the thieves, swindlers, and other classes of criminals who spring from 
the unequal distribution of wealth. Thus the administration of the 
criminal law, with aU its paraphernalia of policemen, detectives, 
prisons, and penitentiaries, would, hke the administration of the 
civil law, cease to make such a drain upon the vital force and atten- 
tion of society. We should get rid, not only of many judges, bailiffs, 
clerks and prison keepers, but of the great host of lawyers who are 
now maintained at the expense of producers; and talent now wasted 
in legal subtleties wotdd be turned to higher pursuits. . . . 

AU this simpHfication and abrogation of the present functions allow an 
of government would make possible the assumption of certain other extension of 



152 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



numerous 

public 

services, 



and, in 
summary, 
would 
carry civili- 
zation to 
yet nobler 
heights. 



functions which are now pressing for recognition. Government 
could take upon itself the transmission of messages by telegraph 
as well as by mail; of building and operating railroads, as well as 
of opening and maintaining common roads. ... 

There would be a great and increasing surplus revenue from the 
taxation of land values, for material progress, which would go on 
with greatly accelerated rapidity. . . . This revenue arising from 
the common property, could be applied to the common bene- 
fit. .. . We could estabUsh public baths, museums, libraries, gardens, 
lecture rooms, music and dancing halls, theatres, universities, technical 
schools, shooting galleries, play grounds, gymnasiums, etc. Heat, 
light, and motive power, as well as water, might be conducted through 
our streets at pubUc expense; our roads be lined with fruit trees; 
discoverers and inventors rewarded, scientific investigations sup- 
ported; and in a thousand ways the public revenues made to foster 
efforts for the public benefit. . . • 

[In summary the application of this remedy to the problem of 
poverty would] raise wages, increase the earnings of capital, extir- 
pate pauperism, abohsh poverty, give remunerative employment to 
whoever wishes it, afford free scope to human powers, lessen crime, 
elevate morals, and taste, and intelligence, purify government and 
carry civilization to yet nobler heights." . . . 



The single 
tax doctrine 
has attracted 
world-wide 
attention. 



64. The case for the single tax^ 

The doctrine of single tax, as expounded by Henry George, has 
attracted the attention of social reformers the world over. Thou- 
sands of articles, pamphlets and books have been written upon the 
subject. The doctrine has been lauded by a small group, condemned 
outright by a larger group, and accepted in part by a considerable 
number of thinking people. The following extract from the De- 
baters' Handbook Series gives in compact form the various arguments 
which have been advanced in favor of an acceptance of the doctrine 
of single tax: 

1 From the Debaters' Handbook Series, Selected Articles on Single Tax. Com- 
piled by Edna D. Bullock. The H. W. Wilson Co., White Plains, New York, 1915; 
pp. xiii-xvi. 



SINGLE TAX 



153 



All public revenue should be raised by a single tax on land values, 
because 

I. The present national, state, and local taxes are fundamentally 

defective, for 

A. They are taxes on industry and improvements, and industry 

and improvements should not be taxed, for 

1. Taxes falling on the products of labor discourage their 

production. 

2. Taxes falling on improvements lessen the amount of 

improvements. 

B. They are unjust t^xes, for 

1. They can be easily evaded. 

2. They can to a considerable extent be shifted. 

3. They bear heavily on the poor. 

4. All taxes on the products of individual labor are unjust 

when society has a fund of its o.vn from which to draw 
its revenues. 

C. They are expensive, complex, and cumbersome, for 

I. They are levied on a great variety of objects and require 
complicated machinery, and duplication of machinery, 
for their assessment and collection. 

II. The single tax on land values will do away with the defects of the 

present system, for 

A. It will exempt industry and improvements from taxation, for 

I. Land will bear the entire burden. 

B. It is a just tax, for 

1. It cannot be evaded, for 

a. Land cannot be concealed or carried off. 

b. Land values can be easily determined. 

2. It cannot be shifted, for 

a. It will be paid out of rent. 

h. Landlords cannot pay the tax from an increase in 
rents, for 
(i) Rents depend on supply and demand. 

c. Economists are agreed that the single tax cannot be 

shifted. 

3. It is a burden on no one, for 

a. The fund upon which it draws is created by society, for 
(i) All land values and all increase in land values 
are due to the presence of society, for 
(a) If society were not there the land would 

have no value. 
{h) Individual labor or improvements do not 
add to the value of the bare land. 



Affirmative 
arguments: 

Defects of 
our present 
tax system. 



The single 
tax would 
do away 
with these 
defects. 



154 READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 

b. It merely takes from the landowner the unearned 
increment of land due to presence of society, 
which increment is a social and not an individual 
product. 

C. It is a simple tax, for 

1. There is one object of taxation, land values. 

2. Little machinery is necessary in order to assess and collect 

a tax on land values only, 

D. It is an adequate tax, for 

I. It has a large fund from which to draw revenue in the 
annual rental value of land and in the increase in value 
of land from year to year. 

E. It is an elastic tax, for 

I. The amount of revenue raised by the tax can be auto- 
matically raised or lowered by changing the rate, for 
a. The fund on which it draws is much larger than is 
necessary for all governmental expenditure. 
Social bene- m. The single tax on land values will bring about desirable economic 
tits ot the ^^^ social readjustments which will be beneficial, for 

A. The condition of the laboring classes will be improved, for 

1. Land will be comparatively easy to get, for 

a. Idle land will be forced into the market and prices 
will fall, for 
(i) It will be taxed at its full value. 
(2) Speculators will not be able to hold it out of 
use and pay taxes on it. 

2. The slum problem will be remedied, for 

a. Owners of cheap tenements will have to build better 

buildings in order to get sufficient income to pay 
the taxes on the land value. 

b. Vacant land will be available at cheap prices. 

c. The exemption of improvements will stimulate 

building. 

3. Wages will be increased, for 

a. Employers will be obliged to pay workingmen the 

equivalent of what they could produce on the 
land, for 
(i) Land will be available to anyone who will put 
it into productive use. 

b. The opening up of the vast areas now held out of 

use for purposes of speculation will give a great 
amount of employment to labor. 

B. The farmer will be benefited, for 

I. The products of his labor, such as crops, his improve- 



SINGLE TAX 



155 



IV. 



ments, implements, stocks, etc., will be exempt from 
taxation. 
2. He will actually pay less taxes than at present, for 

o. The vast holdings of idle land in both cities and 

rural districts will bear their just share of the taxes. 

C. All forms of industry will be stimulated by the exemption 

of labor, capital and all improvements on land, from 

taxation and by making the natural resources accessible 

to all. 

The single tax on land values has succeeded where it has been 

tried, for 

A. It has greatly benefited Vancouver, Victoria, Edmonton and 

other Canadian municipalities. 

B. It has worked well in New Zealand and Australia. 

C. Taxes with some single tax features are being used success- 

fully by England, Germany, and other European countries. 



The single 
tax has 
succeeded 
where it 
has been 
tried. 



The present 
tax system 
is not 
inherently 
defective, 



65. The case against the single tax ^ 

In opposition to the above claims, numerous arguments have Negative 
been advanced against the single tax. These negative arguments arguments: 
have been summarized as follows: 

Public revenues should not be raised by a single tax on land values, 
because 
I. The present system of taxation is not inherently defective, for 

A. On the whole, it is in harmony with the great principle of 

taxation that each individual should contribute to the 
support of the government in proportion to his ability to 
pay, for 

1. Property taxes form the basis of our system of taxation. 

2. Property is one of the best evidences of ability to pay. 

B. It is a diversified system, and diversification in a taxing sys- 

tem is desirable, for 

1. If any injustice results from one tax, it is apt to be equalized 

or mitigated by the other taxes. 

2. A diversified system is a' more certain source of revenue, 

for 

a. If one source fails, others can be drawn upon. 

3. It affords greater elasticity. 

* From the Debaters' Handbook Series, Selected Articles on Single Tax. Com- 
piled by Edna D. Bullock. The H. W. Wilson Co., White Plains, New York, 1915; 
pp. xvi-xix. 



iS6 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



and its 
specific de- 
fects can be 
remedied 
without 
overthrow- 
ing the 
entire 
system. 



Defects of 
the single 
tax as a 
system of 
taxation: 
injustice, 



4. It requires some contribution from practically every 

citizen. 

5. It permits the application of taxes for social or political 

purposes. 
C. The specific defects in the present system can be remedied by 
specific reforms without overthrowing the entire system, 
for 

1. The greatest evil of the present system of state and local 

taxation — evasion — can be done away with by the 
classification of property for purposes of taxation and 
by the taxation of difi'erent classes at different rates, for 

a. If a low rate is placed on intangible and other personal 

property, the tax will not be evaded. 

b. The classified property tax has practically done 

away with evasion in the states where it has 
been adopted. 

2. Injustices in the present system can be remedied by the 

extension of progressive inheritance taxes in the states 
and the adoption of a progressive income tax by the 
federal government. 

3. The separation of state and local taxation will secure 

greater simplicity and effectiveness in the taxing system. 
II. Viewed solely as a system of taxation, the single tax on land values 
is defective, for 
A. It is unjust, for 

1. It fails to conform to the canon of taxation that all should 

pay taxes in proportion to their ability to pay, for 

a. It taxes individuals only in proportion to the value 

of the land which they own. 

b. It taxes the poor men's land and exempts the rich 

men's personal property, mansions, skyscrapers, 
and factories. 

c. It takes no consideration of income, productiveness 

of property, or any of the evidences of ability to 
pay. 

d. It exempts nearly all monopolies and trusts. 

2. It discriminates against a certain class in society — the 

farmers, for 

a. It compels them to bear an undue share of the burdens 
of taxation. 

3. It discriminates against one of the elements of production, 

for 

a. Labor and capital should also bear some of the burden 
of taxation, for 



SINGLE TAX 



157 



(i) There are socially created values in labor and 
capital as well as in land, for 
(o) The products of labor owe their value to 
the presence of society. 

(b) The factory and store would be worthless 
if society did not offer a market for their 
products. 

(c) The business man's profits and the income 
of the professional man are socially 
created values. 

(d) Houses and all other improvements have 
the same kind of socially created value 
as has land. 

4. It is unjust to take the increment of land in taxes and not 
reimburse the landowner when there is a decrement in 
the value of his land. 

B. It is difficult of assessment, for 
I. It is often impossible to determine land values exclusive 

of improvements, for 

a. The value of irrigated, cultivated or fertilized land 

cannot be correctly estimated apart from the 

improvements. 

C. It is inelastic, for 

1. It cannot be increased, for 
a. The purpose of the single tax is to take all of the 

rent of land. 

2. The selling value and rental value of land fluctuate and 
will cause fluctuations in the amounts raised by the tax. 

It is inadequate, for 
I. In many poor communities the rent of land is insufficient 

to meet the expenses of government. 
It will lead to extravagance, for 

1. In many communities there are enormous land values and 

large funds will pour into the public treasury. 

2. The interest of citizens in having government economically 

administered will be lessened, for 
a. A majority will pay no taxes. 
F. Its adoption will necessitate the abolition of revenue taxes, 
such as the taxes on opium, liquors, tobacco, adulterated 
foods, etc., and of protective taxes, such as the tariff. 
III. As a scheme for social and economic reform, the single tax on 
land values is undesirable, for 
A. It will result in the confiscation of private property in land, 
for 



D 



E. 



difficulty of 
assessment, 



and inelas- 
ticity. 



It is 
inadequate, 

will lead to 
extrava- ' 
gance, 



and will 
necessitate 
the aboli- 
tion of reve- 
nue taxes. 



158 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Defects of 
the single 
tax as a 
scheme of 
social and 
economic 
reform. 



c. 



I. The appropriation by society of the rent and increase 
in value of land will abolish the selling value of land 
and constitute the state the universal landlord. 
Confiscation of private property in land is not desirable, for 

1, By a process of evolution society has evolved from a 

state of common or community ownership of land to 
a state of private ownership of land. 

2. Private ownership of land is the basis of our civilization. 
It will result in discouraging the policy of conservation, for 

1. A premium will be placed on exploiting natural resources. 

2. Timber lands especially will suffer, for 

a. The timber will have to be cut to pay the taxes, for 
(i) The land yields no income until the timber is 
cut. 



The single 
tax agita- 
tion has 
rendered 
many 
valuable 



it has aided 
in the re- 
form of our 
taxation 
system; 



it has 
directed 
attention to 
the social 
effects of 
taxation; 



66. Services rendered by the single tax agitation^ 

The majority of economists are agreed that the single tax, as 
advocated by Henry George, is too radical and drastic a reform ever 
to find wide acceptance among the American people. Nevertheless, 
the single tax agitation has performed a number of valuable services, 
as Dr. Young points out in the following selection: 

Single taxers have found a ready object of criticism in existing 
tax methods, and they have not come short of their opportunity to 
point out faults. In this they have performed a most valuable public 
service. They have occupied a prominent place in the ranks of tax 
reformers. So far as destructive criticism goes they have frequently 
been in close agreement with those having other tax ideals. They 
have persistently laid bare the theoretical and administrative de- 
fects of the general property tax; they have shown the injustice 
of poU taxes; they have set forth the burdensomeness of federal 
indirect taxation; they have labored assiduously to relax the rigid 
tax clauses of state constitutions; and they have worked ardently 
for the juster and more efficient administration of taxes. , . . 

Finally, single taxers have directed attention to the social effects 
of taxation. The principle of using the taxing power as a means 
of social reform has unquestionably gained a wider acceptance as 
the result of the single tax agitation. . . . 

1 From Arthur Nichols Young, The Single Tax Movement in the United States. 
Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1916; pp. 313, 315, 319. 



SINGLE T/VX 159 

Another most important way in which the single tax movement it has aided 

has exerted influence has been in directing attention to the vital *^^ move- 

° ment to 

importance of the conservation of natural resources. . . . [Single conserve 

taxersi have actively opposed the efforts which from time to time have ^^tural 

-i •> ^^ resources, 

been made to induce Congress to grant away the remainder of the 
nation's natural resources to those who covet them without requir- 
ing a due return. . . . 

Finally, the American single tax movement has been a powerful and it has 

force insistently directing attention to the vexed problem of <^*^^^t^° 
JO ^ attention 

poverty. . . . Through the propaganda of Henry George and his to the 

followers hundreds of thousands have been led to consider how the P^blem of 

poverty, 
condition of mankind may be ameliorated. Never before has the 

pressing importance of social reform been felt as in the last genera- 
tion. The most vital message of Henry George's life and work was 
the urgency of social reform. Whatever the fate of the remedy for 
which he so earnestly contended, one thing is sure. Henry George 
made it plain that no true civilization can avoid the duty of finding 
a means to "extirpate poverty" and "to lighten the burdens of those 
compelled to toil." 



Questions on the foregoing Readings 

1. Define single tax. 

2. Just what is meant by land value? 

3. What is the importance of Henry George in the single tax agitation? 

4. What did George point out with regard to the persistence of poverty 

in modern life? 

5. What, according to George, is the reason for this persistence? 

6. What were the six remedies for poverty which George examined 

and rejected as inadequate? 

7. What remedy did George propose for the eradication of poverty? 

8. What arguments did he advance to prove that the private owner- 

ship of land is unjust? 

9. Outline briefly the results which George claimed would follow from 

an application of his " remedy." 

10. Outline the case in favor of the single tax. 

11. What are the chief arguments against the single tax? 

12. What, according to Dr. Young, has been the service rendered 

by the single taxers with regard to taxation reform in this 
country? 



l6o READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 

13. What service has the single tax agitation rendered with regard 

to the social effects of taxation? 

14. What has been the service of the single taxers with reference to 

the conservation of natural resources? 

15. Explain how the single tax agitation has performed a valuable 

service by directing attention to the problem of poverty. 



CHAPTER XII 



PROFIT SHARING AND COOPERATION 
67. Profit sharing establishments in the United States^ 

Profit sharing is a device which aims to bind together the employer 
and employees in a given business. Profit sharing seeks to achieve 
this aim by distributing among the workmen, in addition to their 
regular wages, a share of those profits which would ordinarily go en- 
tirely to the employer. In 1916 the United States Department of 
Labor undertook a comprehensive survey of profit sharing in this 
country. In that year sixty estabUshments had profit-sharing systems, 
more than two-thirds of which had been in operation less than ten 
years. Of these sixty profit sharing estabUshments, thirty-three were 
manufacturing concerns. The following is the complete Ust of profit 
sharing estabUshments in the United States in 19 16, as compiled by 
the Department of Labor: 
Establishments with Profit-sharing Plans in Operation in 191 6 



Name of Firm 


City and Stale 


Industry or Business 


Year 
plan 

was 
estab- 
lished 


Am. Light & Traction Co 


New York, N.Y.... 
Falconer, N. Y 

Evansville, Wis 

Louisville, Ky 

Philadelphia, Pa.... 

Toledo, Ohio 

Bangor, Me. ....... 

Lynn, Mass 

Boston, Mass 

Fall River, Mass — 
Bridgeport, Conn. . . 




1899 


Am. Manufacturing Concern .... 

Baker Manufacturing Co 

Ballard & Ballard Co 


Manufacturing wood nov- 
elties, toys, desks. 

Manufacturing windmills 
and gasoline engines. 

Manufacturing — Flour 
milling. 

Architects and contractors . 


191S 
1899 
1886 


Ballinger & Perrot 


1911 
1904 
1914 


Bartley, R. A. 


Benoit System 


.. do 


Blood, J. B., Co 


do 


Boston Consolidated Gas Co. . . . 






Bourne Mills 

Burritt, A. W 


Manufacturing cotton cloth 
Manufacturing — Lumber 
mill. 


1889 
1900 





In 1916 an 
investigation 
by the U.S. 
Department 
of Labor 
revealed 



sixty profit 
sharing es- 
tablishments 
in the 
United 
States. 



1 From the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 
Profit Sharing in the United States. Washington, 1917; p. 10. 

161 



l62 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Name of Firm 



Cabot, Samuel 

Carolina Savings Bank 

Chatfield Milling & Grain Co. 



Cleveland Twist & Drill Co. 

Davis, W. B 

Eastman Kodak Co 



Edison Electric Illuminating Co. 

EUiman, D. L., & Co 

Empire Trust Co 

Farr Alpaca Co 

Garfield Savings Bank 

Graves, H. B., & Co 

Guardian Savings & Trust Co... 
Harris Trust & Savings Bank. . 

Hathaway, C. F., & Sons 

Heebner & Sons 



HoUenberg Music Co 

Ivey, J. B.,&Co 

Krauter, C. H 

Kutztown Foundry & Machine 
Co. 

Lever Bros. (Ltd.) 

Liberty Trust Co 

Maxwell, A. L., Co 

Milmore Corporation, The 

Miner-Hillard Milling Co 



Minneapolis Bedding Co. 
Nelson, N. O., Mfg. Co.. 



New Haven Gas Light Co 

Newport Daily News 

Noyes, Chas. F., Co 

Parks, G. M., Co 

Patton Paint Co 

Peninsular Paper Co 

Plymouth Cordage Co 

Record Auto Supply & Service 
Co. 

Sears, Roebuck & Co 

Simmons, R. F., Co 

Simplex Wire & Cable Co 



Spencer Wire Co 

Stambaugh-Thomson Co. 

Stevens, Samuel 

Stem, Bernard & Son . . . 



Title Guarantee & Trust Co. 
Tyler, W. S, Co 



Underwood Typewriter Co., Inc. 
Union Savings Bank & Trust Co. 
United Electric & Water Co. . . . 
Vitagraph-Lubin-Selig-Essanay 

Co. (Inc.). 
Ward Baking Co 



Cily and Slate 



Boston, Mass. . . . 
Charleston, S. C, 
Bay City, Mich.. 

Cleveland, Ohio. 

....do 

Rochester, N. Y. 



Brooklyn, N. Y... 
New York, N.Y.. 

... .do 

Holyoke, Mass. . . 
Cleveland, Ohio. . 
Rochester, N. Y. . 
Cleveland, Ohio. . 

Chicago, III 

Cambridge, Mass. 
Lansdale, Pa 



Little Rock, Ark.... 

Charlotte, N. C 

Youngstown, Ohio. 
Kutztown, Pa 



Cambridge, Mass. . . 

Boston, Mass 

Lawrenceville, 111.. . 
South Bend, Ind. . 
Wilkes-Barre, Pa... . 

Minneapolis, Minn. 

St. Louis, Mo 

New Haven, Conn. 

Newport, R. I 

New York, N. Y. 
Fitchburg, Mass.. 
Milwaukee, Wis. . 
Ypsilanti, Mich.. . 
Plymouth, Mass.. 
Washington, D. C 



Chicago, 111 

Attleboro, Mass. 
Boston, Mass... . 



Worcester, Mass 
Youngstown Ohio 
Columbus, Ohio. . 
Milwaukee, Wis. . 

New York, N. Y. 
Cleveland, Ohio. . 



New York, N. Y. 
Cincinnati, Ohio.. 
Hartford, Conn.. . 
New York, N. Y. 



.do. 



Industry or Business 



Manufacturing chemist.. . . 

Banking 

Manufacturing — Flour 

millers, grain dealers, etc. 
Manufacturing drills, etc... 

Mercantile 

Manufacturing photo- 
graphic appliances and 

supplies. 

Public utility 

Real estate brokers 

Banking 

Manufacturing cotton cloth 

Banking 

Mercantile 

Banking 

,...do 

Wholesale baking 

Manufacturing agricultural 

machinery. 

Mercantile 

,...do 

....do 

Manufacturing — Foundry 

and machine works. 
Manufacturing — Soap. . . . 

Banking 

Mercantile 

Manufacturing chemists. . . 
Manufacturing — Milling, 

flour, meal, grits, etc. 
Manufacturing beds and 

bedding. 
Manufacturing plumbers' 

and steamfitters' supplies. 

Public utility 

Newspaper publishing 

Real estate brokers 

Contractors and builders. . 

Manufacturing paints 

Manufacturing cover papers 
Manufacturing cordage. . . 
Mercantile 

....do 

Manufacturing jewelry. . . 
Manufacturing insulating 

wires and cables. 

Manufacturing wire 

Mercantile 

... .do 

Manufacturing — Flour 

milling. 

Banking 

Manufacturing mining 

screens. 
Manufacturing typewriters 

Banking 

Public utility 

Mercantile — Distributors 

of moving-picture films. 
Bakers 



PROFIT SHARING AND COOPERATION 163 

68. Examples of successful profit sharing ^ 

In a number of cases profit sharing has worked out to the advan- The inves- 
tage and satisfaction of both employer and employees. This has been tigation of 
shown, for example, by the investigations of the National Industrial ing by the 
Conference Board. The Board tested the practicabiUty of profit JJ^^^^g^^^j^j 
sharing in the United States by sending out inquiries to industrial Conference 
establishments which at one time or another had used this method of ^o^''^- 
remuneration. The following extract from the 1920 report of the 
Board contains some of the favorable replies to these inquiries: 

A company manufacturing plumbing goods, whose plan has had Benehts: 
a long period of trial, stated: "In general, we feel that a system of 
profit sharing is an ameliorating influence, but that it is not a cure-all." 

The Miner-Hillard Milling Company, grain millers, Wilkes-Barre, Increased 
Pa., whose plan was adopted in 1906, reported: "It has paid us well, '^y^"y and 
because our relations with our men have made our work lighter and tion. 
a pleasure in many cases where it would otherwise have been a 
burden. It has always attracted to us the best quaUty of men." 

A chemical manufacturing company, whose plan was adopted 
in 1888, wrote: "We feel that the effect upon our operatives has 
been good." 

A fuel company of Massachusetts which adopted profit sharing Reduction 
in 1918 gave an account of the operation of the plan in a coke plant. ° ^ o"" 
It wrote that the plan had a tendency to reduce labor turnover; 
to make employees more economical with materials, and to bring 
about "contentment and cooperation of workers." It said further: 
"After once receiving a share of profits the employees are anxious to 
hold their jobs so as to receive all subsequent profits." 

A shoe manufacturing company, whose plan was adopted in 191 7, 
wrote: "The effect of the plan has been to reduce labor turnover, 
also labor disturbances. We feel that it has added to the cooperation 
of our workers, and this would of necessity improve the quality of 
the work." 

The Cleveland Twist Drill Company, whose plan was adopted 
in 191 5, stated: "We do not know of any direct benefit from the 

1 From the National Industrial Conference Board, Research Report No. 29, 
Practical Experience with Profit Sharing in Industrial Establishments. Boston, 
1920; pp. 11-19. 



164 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Increased 
efficiency. 



Avoidance 
of labor 
disturb- 
ances. 



Promotion 
of thrift. 



profit-sharing plan in economy in the use of material, although there 
may be an indirect benefit." 

The Brooklyn Edison Company, Brooklyn, N.Y., wrote: "Profit 
sharing has led to increased efficiency and regard for company 
property." 

Only a few estabUshments reported as to the effect of profit-sharing 
plans on the quahty and quantity of work turned out. ... A textile 
estabUshment . . . said regarding the quality of product: "This 
has undoubtedly been improved through the increased cooperation 
of employees and between heads of departments." 

Another establishment reported: "We have several instances 
where a press gang would work extra each day in order that they 
might increase their annual share of the profits as well as add to their 
daily earnings." 

The R. F. Simmons Company, of Attleboro, Mass., jewelry manu- 
facturers, which adopted profit sharing in 1902 with a view to pro- 
moting cordial relations with their workers, wrote: "While our 
plan ... is not a panacea for aU industrial ills, yet we have felt 
that our policy in this respect has been a material factor in securing 
loyal and interested cooperation in the production of Simmons 
Chains. Furthermore, this loyalty was put to a severe test in August, 
1 91 8, when a general strike (the first of its kind in this city) occurred 
in the jewelry business here, and only one. man and three women out 
of 200 employees responded to the strike call . . . despite the fact 
that by far the majority of the jewelry employees of the city went 
on strike, and in the face of vigorous and persistent picketing of 
our plant." 

The Brooklyn Edison Company wrote: "We feel that our plan 
is unique and very satisfactory to the employees and to the company. 
It has tended to lengthen the term of service of the employees; 
induced many to become owners of stock in the company, and makes 
for general loyalty and efficiency. On the other hand, it has led 
many employees to establish systematic habits of thrift. ..." 

An estabUshment which distributes profits in the form of shares 
of stock, wrote: "Only in a few cases of necessity have the employees 
sold their shares or even their balances, which goes to show that the 
employees are anxious to save." . . . 



PROFIT SHARING AND COOPERATION 1 65 

69. Examples of unsuccessful profit sharing ' 

Although profit sharing has proved more or less successful in a In a num- 

number of cases, in other instances it has been abandoned as an ° ^^^^^ 

' profit shar- 

unworkable scheme. In the following extract Dr. Paul Monroe ing has 
presents a number of cases in which industrial establishments in i^^'^/u'^'^" 
the United States have abandoned profit sharing: cause of 

Keene Brothers, of Lynn, Mass., manufacturers of shoes, adopted its failure 
a plan of profit sharing in 1885, but did not make pubhc any details. [^Ijq|.""^"^*^^ 
One or two divisions [of profits] were made; but the personnel of troubles, 
the firm was changed and the plan was abandoned. It had not 
prevented labor disturbances during the years that dividends were paid. 

The New England Granite Works, of Westerly, R. I., adopted an 
elaborate plan of profit sharing in 1886, chiefly as a protection against 
labor difficulties. Lack of good faith was charged by both sides; 
no bonus was ever paid. 

Welshans and McEwans, plumbers, of Omaha, Neb., divided 
all net profits for 1886, after reserving interest on capital, pro rata 
between capital and wages. For the first year the bonus amounted 
to an extra month's pay on eight months' work. The following year 
the men went out on a general strike, and the plan was abandoned. 

The Hoffman and Billings Company, of Milwaukee, Wis., manu- because of 
facturers of plumbers' goods, divided net profits equally between ^^^ resent- 

. , , , , ,7, ... . ment of the 

capital and labor, each laborer participatmg m proportion to wages employees 

earned for the years 1886-1890. "This plan worked well for several ^^'^" ^^^''^ 

were no 

years when there were profits to divide, but when we happened to profits to 
have a poor year, and losses instead of gains at the end of the year, divide, 
we met sour faces all around among our men, and concluded that 
it was too much of a 'jug-handle affair' to be continued, so we 
dropped it. . . ." 

The Springfield Foundry Company, of Springfield, Mass., began because of 
to divide profits in 1887, and discontinued the plan after three years' ^^^ failure 

to increase 
trial. The bonus amounted to 2 or 3 per cent on wages. The firm production 

says, "In our business, it was an injury rather than a benefit to us. ^^^ ^^^^^ 

We could not see any perceptible increase in the production of our benefits, 

' From Paul Monroe, "Profit Sharing in the United States." The American 
Journal of Sociology, Vol. i, No. 6. May, 1896; pp. 700-701, 705-707, 709. 



i66 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



because 
of trade 



opposition, 



or because 
of the fail- 
ure of profit 
sharing 
to render 
the employ- 
ees more 
careful and 
helpful. 



Summary. 



men, nor interest in the care of their tools or material. On the con- 
trary, our employees began to think that they were the proper parties 
to fix wages, and the prices at which we should sell the products. 
The employees were also careful to take advantage of their member- 
ship in the labor unions to enforce their demands. Since we have 
abandoned the system of profit sharing, these troubles do not exist." 

The St. Louis (Mo.) Shovel Company divided profits from 1887 
to 1894. . . . Their opinion is that the plan decreases the profits 
of the firm, and "so long as labor unions dominate labor, profit 
sharing cannot be a success nor prevent labor troubles, even though 
employers conscientiously and Uberally endeavor to work under the 
system. ..." 

The Watertown (N. Y.) Steam Engine Company divided profits 
for the year 1891. Their experience was "that in the case of a fair 
proportion of our men we secured better service, better regard for 
the interests of the business, but that a still larger number of the 
men regarded their dividends as simply so much extra pay and were 
no more careful than before. We are quite willing to believe that 
if the experiment had been continued for a number of years we should 
have developed among the men a sentiment which would have com- 
pelled the indolent and indifferent ones to give us better service 
or incur the disapproval and ostracism of their fellow workmen. 
The restilt for the first year, however, was so far from showing any 
very favorable improvement that we discontinued it." 

A brief summary must here suffice. ... In comparison with 
European experience, one is struck with the brevity of the trial 
[of profit sharing in the United States]. As to a fundamental prin- 
ciple, the large majority [of firms] are of the opinion that such a 
plan results in a financial loss to the employer, he being recouped 
if at all in non- computable ways. Those which continue the plan 
do so, not as a matter of philanthropy, but as a matter of justice if 
not of business. These are about equally divided in their opinion as 
to the direct financial benefit of the plan to the firm. While it is 
true . . . that one success will prove that it can be done with profit 
and any number of failures not prove the contrary, yet it is as a gen- 
eral type, not an individual variation, that such a system has social 
significance. . . . 



PROFIT SHARING AND COOPERATION 1 67 

70. Examples of successful cooperation ^ 

Often discussed in connection with profit sharing, but of greater Status of 
social significance, is cooperation. In general, cooperation has cooperation 
developed more slowly in the United States than in Great Britain United 
and on the continent of Europe. Nevertheless, some types of cooper- St'^tes. 
ation have attained considerable success in this country, particularly, 
perhaps, consumers' cooperation. In the following passage, James 
Peter Warbasse gives some examples of successful consumers' coop- 
eration in the United States: 

All over the country the movement has developed. It has been Over 2000 

sporadic. No center can be designated as the seat of the renaissance 'consumers 

cooperative 
of cooperation. The agricultural people of the northern states have societies in 

been among the first in this new era. The Cooperative League of ^}^^ United 

America has knowledge of over 2,000 true consumers' cooperative 

societies conducting stores. . . . 

The Tri-state Cooperative Society is a federation of about seventy The Tri- 

societies, mostly in western Pennsylvania. These societies are con- ^^^^ . 

operative 

stituted of many nationalities; Poles, Slovaks, Lithuanians, Ukrani- Society, 
ans, Italians and Bohemians. One of the typical successful organiza- 
tions is that of Bentleyville, Penn. Here, in a little mining town> 
it has crowded out private business, and handles groceries, meats, 
dry goods, shoes, feed, and automobile supplies to the amount of 
$200,000 a year. . . . 
The Central States Cooperative Society is a federation of about The Central 

sixty-five distributive societies. Its headquarters are Springfield, States Co- 

■^ _ r o > operative 

111. It maintains a wholesale with a warehouse at East St. Louis. Society. 

These societies are largely built up among the union locals of the 

United Mine Workers in Illinois. This is a group of about eighty 

of these societies. Their financial success enables many of them to 

return to their members a savings-return of from 6 to 12 per cent 

quarterly on the cost of their purchases. . . . 

Illinois is but an index of what is going on in the neighboring The Pala- 

states. Strong groups of societies exist in Indiana, Ohio and Iowa. ^'"^ ^°" 
_ _ operative 

The Palatine Cooperative Society of Chicago with 1200 members Society. 

* From James Peter Warbasse, The Cooperative Consumers' Movement in the 
United Stales. The Cooperative League of America, New York, igig. 



i68 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Cooperation 
in Wiscon- 
sin, Minne- 
sota, the 
Dakotas 
and Mon- 
tana. 



Cooperation 
in the 
Puget 
Sound 
section. 



Cooperation 
in Cali- 
fornia. 



conducts a school with 400 Pohsh students. This society has a 
capital of $500,000. . . . 

Wisconsin, Minnesota, the Dakotas, and Montana are, perhaps, 
more thoroughly permeated with the spirit of cooperation than any 
other section of the country. An example of the method of operation 
is the Silverleaf, North Dakota, Society. A small group of farmers 
subscribed $200 each. They bought out two merchants in the nearest 
town. One building was remodeled and used as a store, warehouse 
and creamery; the other is used as a community center. . . . 
• The Northwest has a vigorous movement around Puget Sound. 
The powerful labor organizations of Seattle have become interested 
in cooperation. Things are happening rapidly. The Seattle society 
bought a store doing a business of $4,200 a month. They started in 
June, 1918, and increased the business to $7,000 a month. They 
then took over the city market, and during the first 30 weeks did 
a business of $500,000. Now their meat business alone amounts 
to $70,000 a month. . . . During the past few months, they have 
gone ahead and organized their slaughter house where they kill the 
animals suppUed by their own agricultural members. Most of 
their fruit and vegetables are suppUed by their own members. Their 
market is a concrete bmlding with its own ice plant and cold storage. 

Among these Seattle cooperatives are found a laundry, printing 
plant, milk condensary, several shingle mills, fish cannery and recrea- 
tion houses. Behind them is the support of the labor unions. A 
single union contributed $12,000 to their total $41,000 paid up capital. 
The Puget Sound Cooperative Wholesale, a federation of the societies 
about Seattle, was organized in 1918. ... 

An older cooperative movement is found in California. The 
Rochdale movement was started there fuUy twenty years ago. It 
experienced many vicissitudes. A wholesale was organized but it 
failed to give substantial help. Then the Pacific Cooperative League 
was incorporated in 1913 as a propaganda and sustaining organiza- 
tion. This has given decided strength to the movement. During 
the first four years more than iioo associate members joined the 
League. In 191 8 a significant move was made: the California Union 
of Producers and Consumers was created. The three organizations 
which enter into its composition are the Farmers' Educational and Co- 



PROFIT SHARING AND COOPERATION 169 

operative Union, the Pacific Cooperative League and the CaUfornia 
State Federation of Labor. ... 

71. Examples of unsuccessful cooperation ^ 

The Cooperative League of America believes that producers' Two types 
cooperation is generally a success when engaged in by consumers' °^^P'°: ^^ 
societies, and when the product is intended, not for the general mar- operation, 
ket, but for the exclusive use of members of these consumers' societies. 
The League believes, on the other hand, that producers' cooperation 
is universally a failure when engaged in by persons not members of 
a consumers' society, and when the aim is to produce for the general 
market rather than exclusively for members of a consumers' society. 
In the following selection, Mr. Warbasse illustrates the failure of 
this second type of producers' cooperation: 

We must face the facts. The cooperative producers' factory has Failure 
failed. After a hundred years of painful experimenting, history shows °oopg^ative 
that when a group of workers organize and control their product, producers' 
their motive is to get as much as they can for it. The interest of the ^ °^ 
small group of workers is to exploit the great mass of consumers. 
Even though they are less ruthless, and give better value than capi- 
talistic producers, the main fact still stands. They sell their product 
in competition with capitalistic producers, and no matter how un- 
selfish and ideal their original plan has been, they tend ultimately 
to become animated by the same spirit of trade as animates the 
capitaHst. 

The history of the cooperative producers' factory in the European illustrated 
countries is in fine with the above facts. The United States is not ^^ ^^ ^^_ 
without its examples. From 1845 down to the present time, such operation in 
organizations have come and gone, and left their groups of sad and states from 
disillusioned workers standing by the wayside. 1845 to 

The Workingmen's Protective Union, the Sovereigns of Industry, time?'^^^^'^ 
the Patrons of Husbandry, and the Knights of Labor, all organized 
cooperative producers' enterprises. The latter had several boot and 
shoe factories in New England between 1875 and 1885. These at- 
tempts at cooperative industry contributed largely to the breaking 

* From James Peter Warbasse, Producers' Cooperative Industries. The Cooper- 
ative League of America, New. York, 1921. 



lyo READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 

down of this splendid old organization. Printing societies, iron 
foundries, cloth mills, glass factories, laundries, clothing factories, and 
box factories, have each passed into history. 

Other producers' cooperative enterprises in the United States 
have made furniture, underwear, brooms, coal, nails, pipes, lumber, 
pottery, soap, stoves, tobacco, and most every other American prod- 
uct. At the organization of many of these, twenty-five, fifty and 
seventy-five years ago, the same language was used and the same 
plans were made as we find in the case of groups of workers now 
bhndly planning producers' industries. 

The Cooperative Stove Works of Troy, N. Y., founded as the 
result of a strike in 1866, developed a capital of $106,000 in twenty- 
five years, but by that time there were but ten of the original workers 
in the concern, and six men owned more than half of the stock. The 
same happened in the Cooperative Foundry of Rochester, N. Y.; 
organized in 1867, it grew till it had a capital of $200,000 twenty years 
later and was doing a business of $350,000 a year; but it ended by 
becoming a capitalistic stock company owned by thirty-five stock- 
holders. A similar history foUows the cigar and glove factories. 

The Cooperative Hat industry of Philadelphia was started in 
1887 and went the way of the rest. A cooperative hat factory in 
New York had capital, enthusiasm and ideahsm, but it failed for 
want of an organized market of consumers. The Cooperative Barrel 
Works of Minneapolis, organized in 1874, had by-laws which voiced 
ideal standards of industry, and every condition surrounded their 
enterprise to make for success; [but they ultimately failed]. . . . 

In 1919 the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees 
and Railway Shopmen invested around a milUon dollars in factories 
for the manufacture of gloves, hosiery, and underwear. Although 
called cooperative, Hke all of the above enterprises, they were really 
not cooperative. The Cooperative League of America advised 
against the course they were entering upon; but oblivious of a hun- 
dred years of failure they went ahead, and the poorest paid of the 
Railroad Brotherhoods in less than a year have sunk their hard- 
earned savings in a hopeless failure. 



PROFIT SHARING AND COOPERATION 171 



72. The social benefits of cooperation ' 

As has been pointed out, one of the most significant forms of Benefits of 

consumers' 
cooperation. 



cooperation is consumers' cooperation. Where practicable, this consumers 



form of cooperation has several economic advantages, of which 
the two most important are probably the following: first, the coop- 
erative store enables consumers to get commodities at a lower price 
than would be possible were they obliged to buy those commodities 
of a non-cooperative store. Second, to the extent that the cooperative 
store eUminates unnecessary middlemen, the productivity of the 
community may be increased. Aside from these and other eco- 
nomic advantages, the cooperative store confers a number of social 
benefits, which Mr. Fay outHnes in the following passage: 

[In the management of the cooperative store,3 every member The social 
has one vote in the general assembly, and no one has more than one ^,^"^ .^ ° 

° -^ ' the cooper- 

vote. . . . No doubt, as a rule, only the few enthusiasts are regular ative store: 

attendants, but there is not here, as in an ordinary company's meeting, 
the same probability that the audience will be overawed by one or 
two big men. From membership to a seat on the committee, from 
the committee to the presidency, from the presidency to a director- 
ship on the Board of the Wholesale Federation on the one hand, or 
on the Central Board of the Cooperative Union on the other, there 
is a ladder of responsibility which the intelligent working man may (i) 

chmb. ... In proportion as industry generally becomes more cen- ^ ^^'^^ ^f 
trahzed and the working man more rigidly fixed to the machine, the man self- 
cooperative society becomes more valuable as a corrective to the government, 
narrowness of his outlook as a worker. The chief business duties of 
the committee are to control the manager, who fixes prices and is 
generally given a fairly free hand so long as he makes the expected 
dividend, and to keep a watch over ingoings and outgoings. . . . 

It is unfortunately considered ampng most classes a pardonable, (2) 

if not a heroic, thing to trade on the credit of the storekeeper. The . ^ . ^"^\'. 
cooperative store, however, being an association of working men, working 
can forcibly impress on each working man, as he enters the society, '^ '^^^^^j^^l 
that indebtedness at the store is an indirect form of dishonesty to- ments. 

1 From C. R. Fay, Cooperation at Home and Abroad. P. S. King & Son, London, 
1920; pp. 322-324, 328, 330-331. 



172 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



(3) 
It encour- 
ages thrift. 



(4) 
It furthers 
the educa- 
tion of the 
cooper- 
atives. 



wards his working-class fellows. The first members of a store are 
generally seriously-minded men who recognize the risk of indebted- 
ness. . , . They know their members in a way that the ordinary 
shopkeeper cannot know his changing circle of customers. Since 
all members must hold at least one share, the store has a powerful 
lever for compeUing obedience to its rules. As soon as the working 
class become habituated to cash payments, they continue because 
they reahze its advantages. . . . 

[The payment of a dividend by a cooperative store encourages 
thrift on the part of members.] From the increased trade at the stores 
immediately after the payment of profits, [in the form of dividends], 
it is clear that many of the members depend on these profits as a means 
to re-clothe, re-furnish and add generally to the comfort of their 
homes. Thus the money saved at the stores and periodically spent 
gives a new fillip to trade. It is also well known that many cooper- 
ative working men depend upon the store profit to pay their rent. . . . 
In many [English] towns building societies grant loans to working 
men for the purpose of purchasing their houses. The profit from the 
cooperative store is frequently used to meet the instalments of the 
loan. Many have in this way become the proprietors of their own 
homes without effort. . . . 

[An important social aim of cooperation is] the training of men 
and women to take part in industrial and social reforms and munici- 
pal life generally. The work done may perhaps be classified under 
three heads: (i) cooperation: instruction in its history and prin- 
ciples; (2) general: libraries and lectures; (3) recreation: reading- 
rooms, concerts, recreation clubs, excursions. As I have said, the 
attention thus paid to social education distinguishes in particular 
British cooperation. . . . 



Questions on the foregoing Readings 

Define profit sharing. 

How many establishments in the United States were applying 

the profit-sharing principle in 1916? 
What proportion of these establishments were manufacturing 

concerns? 



PROFIT SHARING AND COOPERATION 173 

4. Name some of the states in which these establishments were 

located. 

5. How did the National Industrial Conference Board test the practi- 

cability of profit sharing? 

6. Give an instance of where profit sharing has resulted in increased 

loyalty and cooperation on the part of the employees. 

7. Illustrate the way in which profit sharing may reduce the labor 

turnover in an industrial establishment. 

8. Give an example of profit sharing being abandoned because of 

the opposition of the trade union. 
g. Give an example in which profit sharing has promoted thrift. 

10. Give an example in which profit sharing has been abandoned be- 

cause of its failure to eliminate labor troubles. 

11. What was the experience of Welshans and McEwans of Omaha, 

Neb., with profit sharing? 

12. What opinion was expressed by the W^atertown (N. Y.) Steam 

Engine Company with regard to profit sharing? 

13. Has cooperation developed more or less slowly in the United 

States than in Great Britain and on the continent of Europe? 

14. What is the nature of the Tri-State Co-operative Society? 

15. Give an example of successful cooperation in Illinois. 

16. What can be said as to cooperation in the Puget Sound section? 

17. Trace, briefly, the development of cooperation in California. 

18. What are the two types of producers' cooperation? 

19. Which, according to the Co-operative League of America, has 

proved successful? Which has proved an almost universal 
failure? 

20. Give some examples of unsuccessful producers' cooperation in 

the United States. 

21. Name two economic benefits of the successful cooperative store. 

22. Explain how the cooperative store teaches self-government. 

23. To what extent does the cooperative store teach thrift? 

24. What part may cooperation play in social education? In what 

country does cooperation lay particular stress upon this type 
of education? 



CHAPTER XIII 
THE GENERAL NATURE OF SOCIALISM 



Nature of 
the socialist 
or labor 
theory of 
value. 



Labor a 
measure 
of value, 



73. Socialist theory of value ^ 

In spite of the enormous amount of time and energy spent in dis- 
cussing socialism, astonishingly little attention has been paid to the 
socialist theory of value. And yet this theory of value is the basis 
and foundation of all socialist doctrine. This was recognized by 
Karl Marx, the "father" of modern sociaUsm, and he accordingly 
began his great work Capital with a development of what has 
become generally known as the socialist or labor theory of value. 
Marx points out that all commodities have size, weight, color and 
other physical properties, but that these properties have no direct 
relation to the exchange value of commodities. He then declares 
that one property is characteristic of all commodities, i.e. they are 
produced by human labor. His reasoning soon becomes both com- 
plex and contradictory, but in essence it amounts to. this: com- 
modities tend to have exchange value in proportion as socially neces- 
sary labor has been expended upon them. In the following extract 
from his celebrated book Capital, Marx explains what he means 
by this statement: 

A . . . useful article, therefore, has value only because human 
labor in the abstract has been embodied or materiaUzed in it. How, 
then, is the magnitude of this value to be measured? Plainly, by the 
quantity of the value-creating substance, the labor, contained in 
the article. The quantity of labor, however, is measured by its dura- 
tion, and labor-time in its turn finds its standard in weeks, days, 
and hours. 

Some people might think that if the value of a commodity is deter- 
mined by the quantity of labor spent on it, the more idle and un- 

1 From Karl Marx, Capital. Swan, Sonnenschein, Lowrey and Co., London, 
1887. Vol. I, Part I, Chapter i. Section i. 

174 



THE GENERAL NATURE OF SOCIALISM 1 75 

skilful the laborer, the more valuable would his commodity be, because but value 
more time would be required in its production. The labor, however, '^ measured 

^ ^ only by the 

that forms the substance of value, is homogeneous human labor, amount of 
expenditure of one uniform labor power. The total labor-power of f^"""^ which 

^ _ _ IS socially 

society, which is embodied in the sum total of the values of all com- necessary to 
modities produced by that society, counts here as one homogeneous Produce the 
mass of human labor-power, composed though it be of innumerable in question. 
individual units. Each of these units is the same as any other, so 
far as it has the character of the average labor-power of society, 
and takes effect as such; that is, so far as it requires for producing 
a commodity no more time than is needed on an average, no more 
than is socially necessary. 

The labor-time socially necessary is that required to produce an An example. 
article under the normal conditions of production, and with the 
average degree of skill and intensity prevalent at the time. The 
introduction of power looms into England probably reduced by one- 
half the labor required to weave a given quantity of yarn into cloth. 
The hand-loom weavers, as a matter of fact, continued to require 
the same time as before; but for all that, the product of one hour 
of their labor represented after the change only half an hour's social 
labor, and consequently fell to one-half its former value. 

We see then that that which determines the magnitude of the Conclusion. 
value of any article is the amount of labor socially necessary, or 
the labor-time socially necessary, for its production. . . . Com- 
modities, therefore, in which equal quantities of labor are embodied, 
or which can be produced in the same time, have the same value. . . . 



74. The laborer creates all value ^ 

Marx built a complex system of socialist philosophy upon the Significance 
principle stated in the foregoing selection. Omitting the complexities . f .''""," 

ClplC StcLtCCl 

and qualifications which accompan,y his further statement of this above. 
principle, he believed commodities to have value in proportion as 
socially necessary labor has been expended upon them. This con- 
clusion arrived at, Marx next asserted that it is the laborer, and the 

* From Karl Marx, Value, Price and Profit. Chas. H. Kerr and Co., Chicago, 
1908. Chapter vm. 



176 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Suppose a 
laborer 
needs three 
shillings to 
support 
himself for 
a single 
day, and 
that he can 
earn this 
amount in 
six hours. 

He sells his 
laboring 
power to 
the capital- 
ist for three 
shillings. 



But the 
latter makes 
the laborer 
work more 
than three 
shillings' 
worth, i.e. 
more than 
six hours. 



laborer alone, who is responsible for the value of commodities. This 
second point he developed in the following language: 

Now suppose that the average amount of the daily necessaries of 
a laboring man require six hours of average labor for their production. 
Suppose, moreover, six hours of average labor to be also realized 
in a quantity of gold equal to three shillings. Then three shillings 
would be the price, or the monetary expression of the daily value 
of that man's laboring power. If he worked daily six hours he would 
daily produce a value sufficient to buy the average amount of his 
daily necessaries, or to maintain himself as a laboring man. 

But our man is a wages laborer. He must, therefore, sell his 
laboring power to a capitalist. If he sells it at three shiUings daily, 
or eighteen shillings weekly, he sells it at its value. Suppose him to 
be a spinner. If he works six hours daily he will add to the cotton 
a value of three shillings daily. This value, daily added by him, 
would be an exact equivalent for the wages, or the price of his laboring 
power, received daily. But in that case no surplus value or surplus 
produce whatever would go to the capitahst. Here, then, we come 
to the rub. 

In buying the laboring power of the workmen, and paying its 
value, the capitalist, like every other purchaser, has acquired the 
right to consume or use the commodity bought. You consume or 
. use the laboring power of a man by making him work, as you consume 
or use a machine by making it run. By buying the daily or weekly 
value of the laboring power of the workman, the capitalist has, there- 
fore, acquired the right to use or make that laboring power work 
during the whole day or week. . . . 

[Now] the value of the laboring power is determined by the quantity 
of labor necessary to maintain or reproduce it, but the use of that 
laboring power is only limited by the active energies and physical 
strength of the laborer. The daily or weekly value of the laboring 
power is quite distinct from the daily or weekly exercise of that power, 
the same as the food a horse wants and the time it can carry the 
horseman are quite distinct. The quantity of labor by which the value 
of the workman's laboring power is limited forms by no means a limit 
to the quantity of labor which his laboring power is apt to perform. 

Take the example of our spinner. We have seen that, to repro- 



THE GENERAL NATURE OF SOCIALISM 177 

duce daily his laboring power, he must daily reproduce a value of The laborer 
three shiUines, which he will do by working six hours daily. But I^^^ '^^^^ 

. . his wages 

this does not disable him from working ten or twelve or more hours in six hours 

a day. But by paying the daily or weekly value of the spinner's ^"|! ^^^ ^^ 
laboring power the capitalist has acquired the right of using that to work, say, 
laboring power during the whole day or week. He will, therefore, f-'^other six 
make him work say, daily, twelve hours. Over and above the six hours create a 
required to replace his wages, or the value of his laboring power, ^^''Plus prod- 
he v/ill, therefore, have to work six other hours, which surplus labor capitalist. 
will realize itself in a surplus value and a surplus produce. 

If our spinner, for example, by his daily labor of six hours, added By this 
three shillings' value to the cotton, a value forming an exact equiva- caph^aUst 
lent to his wages, he will, in twelve hours, add six shillings' worth 
to the cotton, and produce a proportional surplus of yarn. As he has 
sold his laboring power to the capitalist, the whole value or produce 
created by him belongs to the capitalist, the owner ... of his labor- 
ing power. By advancing three shillings, the capitalist will, there- 
fore, realize a value of six shillings, because, advancing a value in 
which six hours of labor are crystallized, he will receive in return 
a value in which twelve hours of labor are crystallized. 

By repeating this same process daily, the capitalist will daily ad- lives on the 

vance three shillings and daily pocket six shillings, one-half of which P^duce 

which the 
Will go to pay wages anew, and the other half of which will form laborer 

surplus value, for which the capitalist pays no equivalent. It is this '^^°^^ 

creates. 
sort of exchange between capital and labor upon which capitalistic 

production, or the wages system, is founded. . . . 

75. The capitalist exploits the laborer ^ 

In the above selection Marx claims that although both laborers The capi- 
and capitahsts are intimately connected with the productive process, ^^^'s'^.^- 

p3.ra.SltC. 

the value of the commodities produced is due entirely to the activities 
of the laborers. The capitahst is a parasite who has fastened him- 
self upon the laborers and lives by exploiting them. In the celebrated 
Commimist Manifesto, published in 1848 by Karl Marx and Frederick 
Engels, this view is developed as follows: 

' From Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, The Communist Manifesto. London, 



178 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Capitalism 
means low 
wages. 



The laborer 
is a slave. 



The lower 
strata of 
the middle 
class tend 
to sink into 
the pro- 
letariat. 



Owing to the extensive use of machinery and to the division of 
labor, the work of the proletarians ^ has lost all individual character, 
and, consequently, all charm for the workman. He becomes an 
appendage of the machine, and it is only the most simple, most mo- 
notonous, and most easUy acquired knack, that is required of him. 
Hence, the cost of production of a workman is restricted almost 
entirely to the means of subsistence that he requires for his main- 
tenance, and for the propagation of his race. But the price of a com- 
modity, and therefore also of labor, is equal to its cost of production. 
In proportion, therefore, as the repulsiveness of the work increases, 
the wage decreases. . . . 

Modern industry has converted the little work-shop of the patri- 
archal master into the great factory of the industrial capitaUst. 
Masses of laborers, crowded into the factory, are organized like 
soldiers. As privates of the industrial army they are placed under 
the command of a perfect hierarchy of officers and sergeants. Not 
only are they, slaves of the bourgeois class, and of the bourgeois State, 
they are daily and hourly enslaved by the machine, by the over-looker, 
and, above all, by the individual bourgeois manufacturer himself. . . . 

No sooner is the exploitation of the laborer by the manufacturer 
so far at an end that he receives his wages in cash, than he is set upon 
by the other portions of the bourgeoisie, the landlord, the shop- 
keeper, the pawnbroker, etc. 

The lower strata of the middle class — the small tradespeople, 
shopkeepers, and retired tradesmen generally, the handicraftsmen 
and peasants — all these sink gradually into the proletariat, partly 
because their diminutive capital does not suffice for the scale on which 
modern industry is carried on, and is swamped in the competition 
with the large capitaUsts, [and] partly because their specialized 
skill is rendered worthless by new methods of production. Thus 
the proletariat is recruited from all classes of the population. . . . 

The modern laborer, . . . instead of rising with the progress of 
industry, sinks deeper and deeper below the conditions of existence 

1 SociaUsts make extended use of the terms "proletariat" and "bourgeoisie." 
By proletariat Marx meant the class of modern wage-laborers, who, having no 
means of production of their own, are reduced to selling their labor power in order 
to live. By bourgeoisie is meant the class of modern capitahsts, the owners of the 
means of production, and the employers of wage-earners. 



"slaves." 



THE GENERAL NATURE OF SOCIALISM 1 79 

of his own class. He becomes a pauper, and pauperism develops The bour- 
more rapidly than population and wealth. And here it becomes unfiT^ ^^ 
evident that the bourgeoisie is unfit any longer to be the ruling class nilers of 
in society and to impose its conditions of existence upon society as 
an over-riding law. It is unfit to rule because it is incompetent to 
assure an existence to its slave within his slavery, because it cannot 
help letting him sink into such a state that it has to feed him instead 
of being fed by him. Society can no longer Hve under this bourgeoisie; 
in other words, its existence is no longer compatible with society. . . . 



76. The doctrine of class struggle ^ 

It is clear, from the foregoing selection, that Marx and Engels The doc- 
considered the interests of the working classes to be in opposition *""^ 

to those of the group which they call capitaHstic. Indeed, they struggle 

and its 
inevitable 



went further, and declared that all history is the record of struggles 
between various classes. This tendency to class struggle they at- result. 
tempted to trace historically, and to connect with the present-day 
antagonism between the "wage-slave" and the capitaHst. In the 
following selection, Marx and Engels develop the idea of class struggle, 
and conclude that it must inevitably result in the forcible overthrow 
of capitalism by the working classes: 

The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class Universality 
struggles. ll^^^^^^ 

Freeman and slave, patrician and plebeian, lord and serf, guild- 
master and journeyman, in a word oppressor and oppressed, stood 
in constant opposition to one another, carried on an uninterrupted, 
now hidden, now open fight, that each time ended, either in the 
revolutionary reconstitution of societj'^ at large, or in the common 
ruin of the contending classes. . . . 

Our epoch, the epoch of the bourgeois, possesses, however, this Class 
distinctive feature: it has simplified the class antagonisms. Society ^^^ssle 

_ under cap- 

as a whole is more and more splitting up into two great hostile camps, italism, 
into two great classes directly facing each other: bourgeoisie and 
proletariat. . . . 

1 From Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, The Communist Manifesto. London, 
1848. 



i8o 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



and the 
part played 
therein by 
the bour- 
geoisie. 



The pro- 
letariat des- 
tined to 
destroy the 
bourgeoisie. 



Early stages 
of the 
struggle. 



The struggle 

becomes 

national. 



Function 
of the 
Commun- 
ists. 



The call for 
revolution. 



The bourgeoisie, wherever it has got the upper hand, has put 
an end to all feudal, patriarchal, idyllic relations. It has pitilessly 
torn asunder the motley feudal ties that bound man to his "natural 
superiors," and has left remaining no other nexus between man and 
man than naked self-interest, callous, "cash payment." ... It has 
resolved personal worth into exchange value, and in place of the 
numberless indefeasible chartered freedoms, has set up that single, 
unconscionable freedom — free trade. In one word, for exploitation, 
veiled by religious and political illusions, it has substituted naked, 
shameless, direct, brutal exploitation. . . . 

The weapons with which the bourgeoisie felled feudalism to the 
ground are now turned against the bourgeoisie itself. But not only 
has the bourgeoisie forged the weapons that bring death to itself; 
it has also called into existence the men who are to wield those weapons 
— the modern working class — the proletarians. . . . 

The proletariat goes through various stages of development. With 
its birth begins its struggle with the bourgeoisie. At first the con- 
test is carried on by individual laborers, then by the workpeople 
of a factory, then by the operatives of one trade, in one locality, 
against the individual bourgeois who directly exploits them. ... At 
this stage the laborers still form an incoherent mass scattered over 
the whole country, and broken up by their mutual competition. ... 

Now and then the workers are victorious, but only for a time. 
The real fruit of their battles lies not in the immediate result but in 
the ever improved means of communication that are created in 
modern industry and that place the workers of different localities 
in contact with one another. It was just this contact that was needed 
to centralize the numerous local struggles, all of the same character, 
into one national struggle between classes. . . . 

In what relation do the Communists stand to the proletarians as 
a whole? . . . The immediate aim of the Communists is the same 
as that of all the other proletarian parties: formation of the pro- 
letariat into a class, overthrow of the bourgeois supremacy, conquest 
of poHtical power by the proletariat. . . . 

In short, the Communists everywhere support every revolutionary 
movement against the existing social and political order of things. . . . 

The Communists disdain to conceal their views and aims. They 



THE GENERAL NATURE OF SOCIALISM l8l 

openly declare thai their ends can be attained only by the forcible 
overthrow of all existing social conditions. Let the ruling class 
tremble at a Communistic revolution. The proletarians have nothing 
to lose but their chains. They have a world to win. 
Workingmen of all countries unite! 



77. Immediate aims of American socialism ^ 

Since the days of Marx socialism has broken up into a large num- Funda- 

ber of groups, known under widely varying names, and professing "^^."^t^' 

principles which show considerable diversity. And yet the teach- purpose 

ings of these various organizations are fundamentally the same. ^'"o'^K the 

various 

In every case the doctrines of Karl Marx constitute the basis of socialist 

these teachings, and in every case the immediate aim is the same as groups. 

that expressed by Marx: the abolition of society as it exists to-day. 

The following preamble to the constitution of the Socialist Party of 

America may be taken as typical of the immediate aims of American 

socialism: 

[This organization] is the political expression of the interests of Preamble to 

the workers in this country, and is part of the international working- . ^°^^}^- 
•" ^ *' tution of 

class movement. the Social- 

The economic basis of present-day society is the private ownership ^f- ^^^y of 

and control of the socially necessary means of production, and the 

exploitation of the workers who operate these means of production 

for the profit of those who own them. 

The interests of these classes are diametrically opposed. It is the The basis 

interest of the capitalist class to maintain the present system and °^ ^^'^^^ 

struggle. 
to obtam for themselves the largest possible share of the product 

of labor. It is the interest of the working class to improve their 
conditions of Hfe and get the largest possible share of their own 
product so long as the present system prevails, and to end this sys- 
tem as quickly as they can. 

In so far as the members of the opposing classes become conscious 

of these facts, each strives to advance its own interest as against the 

other. It is this active conflict which we describe as class struggle. 

The capitalist class, by controlling the old political parties, con- 

* From the Socialist Party of America, Preamble to the National Constitution. 



182 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



The need 
for politi- 
cal and 



economic 
organiza- 
tion. 



The funda- 
mental and 



subordinate 
aims of the 
SociaUst 
Party of 
Am^erica. 



trols the powers of the State and uses them to secure and entrench 
its position. Without such control of the State its position of eco- 
nomic power would be untenable. The workers must wrest the control 
of the government from the hands of the masters and use its powers 
in the upbuilding of the new social order — the cooperative 
commonwealth. 

The SociaUst Party seeks to organize the working class for inde- 
pendent action on the poUtical field, not merely for the betterment 
of their conditions, but also and above aU with the revolutionary 
aim of putting an end to exploitation and class rule. Such poHtical 
action is absolutely necessary to the emancipation of the working 
class, and the estabUshment of genuine Hberty for all. 

To accomplish this aim, it is necessary that the working class be 
powerfully and solidly organized also on the economic field, to struggle 
for the same revolutionary goal; and the Socialist Party pledges its 
aid in the task of promoting such industrial organization and waging 
such industrial struggle for emancipation. 

The fundamental aim of the SociaUst Party is to bring about the 
social ownership and democratic control of aU the necessary means 
of production — to eliminate profit, rent and interest, and make 
it impossible for any to share in the product without sharing the 
burden of labor — to change our class society into a society of equals, 
in which the interest of any wiU be the interest of all. 

As subordinate and accessory to this fundamental aim, it supports 
every measure which betters the conditions of the working class, 
and which increases the fighting power of that class within the present 
system. 



Lack of a 

constructive 

program 

among 

socialists. 



78. Ultimate aims of American socialism ^ 

The immediate aims of socialism are to secure the abolition of 
society as it exists to-day. In view of this fact, it is important to 
inquire into the constructive program of socialism, for it would 
obviously be unwise to destroy the present order without having 
ready a pretty weU thought out system to substitute for it. Un- 
fortunately, there is Uttle or nothing in the way of a constructive 

1 From the United Commvmist Party, Statement of Principles. Adopted in 
convention, igao. 



THE GENERAL NATURE OF SOCIALISM 183 

socialist program. What is sometimes called a constructive program 
is generally nothing more than a socialist expression of desires, with- 
out any adequate proof of how these are to be attained. A fair 
sample of the ultimate aims of the socialists is the following state- 
ment by an American socialist group calling itself the United 
Communist Party: 

Under capitaHsm the very development of higher productivity Sodaliit 
is inevitably accompanied by an intensification of the bondage and d';Sires 
oppression of the workers. The machines invented to serve humanity gard 
have become the instruments for enslavement of the producing masses. 

[Socialism] wOl release all the productive energies for the common to produc- 
welfare of all the people. In place of profit as the animating im- '^'°'^' 
pulse to production must stand the needs and enjoyments of the 
producing masses. 

The right and the obligation to labor • — service toward the common 
enjoyment of all — this shall be the basis of citizenship under the 
[sociab'st] regime. 

Education of the masses toward better social service and toward and educa- 
higher appreciation of the enjoyments of Hfe is the foremost item in *-'°'^- 
the [socialist] transformation. This education must go to the adult 
workers, who have so long toiled in darkness, as well as to all the 
children of the nation. 

Education under [socialism], as already in process of development The ex- 

in Russia, takes account of the physical welfare of the children f"|Pjs of 

bolshevism 

along with their mental training. Under the blockade conditions in Russia. 
compelling the rationing of food, it has been the children who have 
always been given the preference. Tens of thousands of children 
of the poor in the big cities have been fed on a communal basis. ... 
The general educational system includes periods for all city children 
in the country, on the socialized agricultural estates, while the village 
children, in turn, will be brought periodically into the cities, and in 
this way education is made to include contact with every phase of 
the industrial, institutional and cultural life of the nation. 

Art, music, the stage — all the cultural advantages which have 
been held aloof for the enjoyment of the privileged few, and in their 
more vulgar forms have been used to deceive and cajole the masses 
— become [under socialism] the institutions of the working masses. 



184 READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 

Art is thereby released from its prostitution to exploiting interests, 
and becomes imbued with new inspiration and vitahty. 
The In a word, the working class will have at its disposal all that civili- 

promise of zation has thus far produced for the enhancement of individual and 

sociahsm. , , . . . , . 

social Ufe. The better orgamzation of the mdustrial and social sys- 
tem can in a single generation, with the advanced technique and 
science of to-day, achieve more toward the eradication of disease, 
crime, depravity and superstition than has been accomplished in 
all the prior centuries together. 



Questions on the foregoing Readings 

1. What theory constitutes the basis of all socialist doctrine? 

2. What great socialist leader recognized this fact? 

3. What, in essence, is Marx's theory of value? 

4. Explain what Marx means by " socially necessary " labor-time. 

5. What is Marx's conclusion with regard to the labor theory of value? 

6. What statement by Marx follows logically from his acceptance of 

the labor theory of value? 

7. Explain how the laborer produces a surplus. 

8. Explain how the capitalist secures this surplus produce. 

9. What does Marx say as to wages under capitalism? 

10. What does he mean by saying that the laborer is a slave? 

11. Distinguish between the terms, " proletariat " and " bourgeoisie." 

12. What classes of society, according to Marx, tend to sink into the 

proletariat? 

13. What is the relation of history to the doctrine of class struggle? 

14. What part have the bourgeoisie played in the class struggle? 

15. What is the function of the laboring class with regard to the class 

struggle? 

16. Explain the aims and methods of Communism (or socialism), as 

stated by Marx and Engels. 

17. What group does the Socialist Party of America claim to represent? 

18. For what purpose does this party urge the political and economic 

organization of the working class? 

19. What is the fundamental aim of the Socialist Party of America? 

20. What is the nature of the " constructive " program of socialism? 

21. Outline the desires of the socialists with regard to production and 

education. 

22. What claim is advanced by the United Communist Party with 

reference to the ability of socialism to improve the lot of 
humanity? 



CHAPTER XIV 

MILITANT SOCIALISM: THE I.W.W. 

79. Why the I.W.W. organization was formed ^ ^ 

The letters I. W. W. are a convenient abbreviation which is used Origin of 
to designate a group of militant sociaUsts calling themselves the ^'^^ I-W.W. 
Industrial Workers of the World. This socialist group was organized 
in Chicago in 1905, by a number of radicals who felt that the workers 
had little or nothing to gain from either trade unionism or political 
sociaUsm. This point of view is illustrated in the following extracts 
from the manifesto which in 1905 called a convention to organize 
the Industrial Workers of the World: 

The worker, wholly separated from the land and the tools, with The worker 

his skill in craftsmanship rendered useless, is sunk in the uniform reduced to 

wage slav- 
mass of wage slaves. . . . Shifted hither and thither by the de- ery. 

mands of profit-takers, the laborer's home no longer exists. In this 
hopeless condition he is forced to accept whatever humiliating con- 
ditions his master may impose. . . . Laborers are no longer classified 
by differences in trade skill, but the employer assigns them according 
to the machines to which they are attached. These divisions, far 
from representing differences in skill or interests among the laborers, 
are imposed by the employers that workers may be pitted against one 
another and spurred to greater exertion in the shop, and that all 
resistance to capitalist tyranny may be weakened by artificial 
distinctions. 

While encouraging these outgrown divisions among the workers, in the class 

the capitalists carefully adjust themselves to the new conditions, struggle, 

the employ- 
They wipe out all differences among themselves and present a united ers present 

front in their war upon labor. Through employers' associations, f united 

... . : front, while 

they seek to crush, with brutal force, by the injunction of the judi- the workers 

1 From the Manifesto Calling a Convention to Organize the Industrial Workers "^ ^ '^ 
of the World. Chicago, January, 1905. 

185 



i86 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



An illustra- 
tion of this 
lack of 
unity. 



The division 
of workers 
into a 
large num- 
ber of trade 
unions has 
injurious 
results. 



The true 
solution of 
the workers' 
diiSculties 
is one great 
industrial 
union, 



ciary, and the use of military power, all efforts at resistance. . . . 
The employers' line of battle and methods of warfare correspond to 
the solidarity of the mechanical and industrial concentration, while 
laborers still form their fighting organization on lines of long-gone 
trade divisions. 

The battles of the past emphasize this lesson. The textile workers 
of Lowell, Philadelphia, and Fall River; the butchers of Chicago, 
weakened by the disintegrating effects of trade divisions; the ma- 
* chinists on the Santa Fe, unsupported by their fellow workers subject 
to the same masters; the long-struggling miners of Colorado, ham- 
pered by a lack of unity and solidarity upon the industrial battle- 
field, all bear witness to the helplessness and impotency of labor as 
at present organized. 

This worn-out and corrupt system offers no promise of improvement 
and adaptation. . . . This system offers only a perpetual struggle 
for slight relief within wage slavery. . . . 

It shatters the ranks of the workers into fragments, rendering 
them helpless and impotent on the industrial battlefield. 

Separation of craft from craft renders industrial and financial 
solidarity impossible. 

Union men scab upon union men; hatred of workers for workers 
is engendered, and the workers are delivered helpless and disinte- 
grated into the hands of the capitalists. . . , 

Craft divisions foster political ignorance among the workers, 
thus dividing their class at the ballot box, as well as in the shop, 
mine and factory. 

Craft unions may be and have been used to assist employers in 
the establishment of monopohes and the raising of prices. . . . 

Previous efforts for the betterment of the working class have 
proven abortive because limited in scope and disconnected in action. 

Universal economic evils afflicting the working class can be eradi- 
cated only by a universal working class movement. . . . 

A movement to fulfill these conditions must consist of one great 
industrial union embracing all industries — providing for craft au- 
tonomy locally, industrial autonomy internationally, and working 
class unity generally. 

It must be founded on the class struggle, and its general adminis- 



MILITANT SOCIALISM: THE I. W. W. 187 

tration must be conducted in harmony with the recognition of the founded on 
irrepressible conflict between the capitahst class and the working ^^^'^gg^JI' 
class. and non- 
It should be established as the economic organization of the work- ^j^^'^^^^^g/" 
ing class, without affiliation with any political party. . . . 



80. The I.W.W. declare war upon capitalism^ 

In answer to the call for a convention to organize the Industrial The I.W.W. 
Workers of the World, a number of anarchists, socialists, and radical ^^^^^ution 
trade unionists assembled in Chicago in the summer of 1905. This 
convention adopted a constitution and formally announced its inten- 
tions toward capitalism. These principles are stated in the preamble 
to the constitution of the I. W. W. in the following language: 

The working class and the employing class have nothing in com- The pream- 
mon. There can be no peace so long as hunger and want are found ^^^ class^"^^^ 
among millions of working people and the few, who make up the war. 
employing class, have all the good things of life. 

Between these two classes a struggle must go on until the workers 
of the world organize as a class, take possession of the earth and the 
machinery of production, and abolish the wage system. 

We find that the centering of the management of industries into The trade 
fewer and fewer hands makes the trade unions unable to cope with ^^^°^ ^'l 

enemy 01 
the ever growing power of the employing class. The trade unions the working- 
foster a state of affairs which allows one set of workers to be pitted '"^'^' 
against another set of workers in the same industry, thereby helping 
defeat one another in wage wars. Moreover, the trade unions aid 
the employing class to mislead the workers into the belief that the 
working class have interests in common with their employers. 

These conditions can be changed and the interest of the working The general 
class upheld only by an organization formed in such a way that all f^^^^^^^j 
its members in any one industry, or in all industries, if necessary, 
cease work whenever a strike or lockout is on in any department 
thereof, thus making an injury to one an injury to all. 

Instead of the conservative motto, "A fair day's wages for a fair 



1 From the Industrial Workers of the World, "Preamble to the Constitution. 
Chicago, igos. 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



The watch- 
word of the 
I.WW. 
The mission 
o£ the 
working 
class. 



day's work," we must inscribe on our banner the revolutionary 
watchword, "AboUtion of the wage system." 

It is the historic mission of the working class to do away with 
capitalism. The army of production must be organized, not only for 
the every-day struggle with capitahsts, but also to carry on production 
when capitahsm shall have been overthrown. By organizing indus- 
trially we are forming the structure of the new society within the 
shell of the old. . . . 



The Com- 
munist 
Party ad- 
vocated 
methods 
s imil ar to 
those of the 
I.W.W. 



One of the 
organizers 
of the 
Communist 
Party 



predicts 
chaos as 
result of 
the class 
struggle, 



81. The purpose of " mass action " ^ 

In addition to the I. W. W., there have existed in this country, 
generally for a short period only, other groups of industrial revolu- 
tionists. In 1919, for example, a group of radicals met in Chicago 
and organized the Communist Party. This group had much in 
common with the I. W. W., and openly approved some of the avowed 
methods of the latter organization. One of the organizers of the 
Communist Party, Dr. Maximilian Cohen, was examined in 1919 
before the New York Joint Legislative Committee Investigating 
Seditious Activities. Dr. Cohen declared before this Committee 
that "the agricultural workers would organize and immediately take 
over the factory or the dairy just as they would take over an in- 
dustry or a store or anything else." Being further questioned, he 
repHed as follows: 

Q. Instead of deUvering it and selling it, they wotild dehver it 
to you people? A. Yes, exactly, to the strike committee, as they 
did in Seattle, and recently in Belfast. The strikers had enough 
organizing abihty to see that the people did get that minimum amount 
necessary. 

Q. You mean to assume the government to the exclusion of the 
elected representatives? A. We are not interested at all in what 
Congress would do. ... If capitahsm is, as we believe it, on the 
verge of a breakdown in aU countries, which brings with it a greater 
and greater discontent and a growing class consciousness among the 
unskilled workers, who are in the vast majority, and they will organize 



1 From the New York Joint Legislative Committee Investigating Seditious 
Activities, Report. Albany, ig2o. Vol. i, pp. 876-881. 



MILITANT SOCIALISM: THE I. \V. W. 189 

and listen to our propaganda, the time must necessarily come when 
a state of chaos is at hand. The workers and Soviets on one hand, 
and the constituent assemblies on the other hand, both wrestling 
for power. That will be the situation. Whether or not it will be 
orderly depends on you people, because we want to assume these 
organizations. 

Q. But if there is any resistance? A. Well, you will show the re- and defends 
sistance, we will not; you will fight to retain power and the workers ™^^^„ 

' J J <=> r action. 

will fight to wrest it away from you. . . . What you are trying to get 
from me is an admission that force will be necessary. 

Q. No, no; if you have any other way to do it, we would like to 
know your idea. A. The question of force does not rest with us. 
We base our philosophy on life itself — mass action. . . . 

Q. What do you mean by social revolution? A. Social revolution He defines 
means the overthrow of the existing system. . ^^^^' 

■' tions the 

Q. In what way? ... A. Well, let us see, in Russia they made social rev- 
a raid on the — of course, they abolished all the constituent assemblies olution. 
— but they raided the offices of the powers that be, and installed 
themselves, and immediately organized Red Guards to protect them- 
selves in their newly found power. 

Q. And you would approve of that method? A. Unquestion- 
ably. . . . 

Q. And you expect to take aU the institutions and aU of the property The present 
of the capitalists? A. Communize it, nationaUze it, immediately. owners of 

^ property to 

Q. Well, you mean take it away from the present owners and do be dis- 
what you please with it? .4. Yes. . . . possessed. 

Q. I certainly want to say that I want to express my personal 
respect for your frankness. A . I must be frank or be imtrue to my 
principles. They are universal so far as those who hold those be- 
liefs are concerned. If I were to get on the stand and say that 
I don't believe in a class war and in overthrowing the capitalist 
government, I would be l>'ing. . . . 

Q. Do you mean by that, ["capitalist system" or "capitalist He seeks 
government"], our present form of government as now constituted? ^^ °^'"' 
A. Exactly. • the govem- 

Q. That is a capitalistic government? .4. Yes. United°^ ^^^ 

Q. And when you say that you want to abolish the capitalist States. 



1 90 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



government, you mean the United States government? A. I mean 
the United States government in so far as the term applies to this 
country. If we are carrying on revolutionary propaganda in this 
country, we mean the overthrow of the United States govern- 
ment. . . . 



Scope of 
the term 
sabotage. 



Vincent 
St. John on 
sabotage. 



How the 
I. W. W. 

use the 
strike and 
sabotage. 



82. The nature and purpose of sabotage ^ 

One of the chief weapons of the I. W. W. and of other groups of 
revolutionary unionists, is that of sabotage. This term is variously 
employed, being used to describe any sort of deliberate action on 
the part of workmen which results in the destruction of the em- 
ployer's property. Owing to the frankness of I. W. W. leaders and 
sympathizers, it is possible to get a clear idea of the nature and 
purpose of sabotage as understood and apphed by this type of social- 
ist. In the following extract from the Report of the New York Joint 
Legislative Committee Investigating Seditious Activities, sabotage 
is explained and illustrated: 

The frankest statement of the tactics and methods employed by 
the I. W. W. is to be found in the pamphlet of Vincent St. John, 
from which ... we quote the following: 

"As a revolutionary organization the Industrial Workers of the 
World aims to use any and all tactics that will get the results sought 
with the least expenditure of time and energy. The tactics used 
are determined solely by the power of the organization to make good 
in their use. The question of ' right ' or ' wrong ' does not concern us. 

"No terms made with an employer are final. All peace so long as 

the wage system lasts is but an armed truce. At any favorable 

opportunity the struggle for more control of industry is renewed. . . . 

No part of the organization is allowed to enter into time contracts 

with the employers. Where strikes are used, it aims to paralyze 

all branches of the industry involved, when employers can least 

afford a cessation of work — during the busy season and when there 

are rush orders to be filled. . . . Faihng to force concessions from 

the employers by the strike, work is resumed and 'sabotage' is used 

to force employers to concede the demands of the workers. . . ." 

1 From the New York Joint Legislative Committee Investigating Seditious 
Activities, Report. Albany, 1920. Vol. i, pp. 887-889. 



MILITANT SOCIALISM: THE I. W. W. 191 

It will be noted that the employment of sabotage is here frankly 
advocated. This term, (which though comparatively new, has be- 
come famihar), is somewhat hard to define. In attempting to define 
the word at the convention of the Sociahst Party of America held 
in Indianapolis in May, 1912, Delegate Slaydon said as follows: 

"Sabotage as it prevails to-day means interfering with the ma- Sabotage 
chinery of production without going on strike. It means to strike "escribed. 
but stay on the payroll. It means that instead of leaving the machine 
the workers will stay at the machine and turn out poor work, slow 
down their work and in every other way that may be practicable 
interfere with the profits of the boss, and interfere to such extent 
that the boss will have to come around and ask, 'What is wrong? 
What can I do to satisfy you people?' " 

Sabotage is described rather than defined by Robert Hunter in his 
book entitled Violence anl the Labor Movement ... as follows: 

"If a strike is lost, and the workmen return only to break the The scope 
machines, spoil the products, and generally disorganize a factory, °^ sabotage. 
they are saboteurs. The idea of sabotage is that any dissatisfied 
workmen shall undertake to break the machine in order to render 
the conduct of industry unprofitable, if not actually impossible. 
It may range aU the way from machine obstruction or destruction 
to dynamiting, train-wrecking, and arson." . . . 

83. Excerpts from the I. W. W. press ^ 

Propaganda by means of the printed page is one of the weapons The three- 
of the I. W. W. Nothing more clearly illustrates the character of fold object 
the movement than the I. W. W. press, the threefold object of I. w. W. 
which is to hearten the members of the organization, to win converts P^^^^' 
to I. W. W. doctrines, and to threaten or defy those whom they re- 
gard as their enemies. The following excerpts from various I. W. W. 
pubUcations are typical: 

From the New Solidarity, Chicago, November 15, igiq. Capitahsm 

"The oppressors are going mad, they feel the crash of the whole demoralized, 
system of privilege and they do not know what they do. They are 

' From the New Solidarity, Chicago, November, igig; and The One Big Union 
Monthly, Chicago, June, August and November, igig. 



192 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



On with 
the revolu- 
tion! 



The workers 
oppressed. 



Liberty is 
practically 
dead in the 
United 
States. 



willing to do any terrible thing before they pass into history. It 
is the duty of the class conscious workingmen of all nationaUties 
to shorten the hours of the White Terror of the powers that be and 
bring nearer the emancipation of the toilers. Now is the time, all 
you Anarchists, Socialists, Communists, non-ists, all for the big 
drive! Let us hit the plutocrats and get rid of them!" 

From the New Solidarity, Chicago, November i, igig. 

" To the wage slaves of Germany, Proletarians of Germany, Fellow 
Workers: we are with you in class conscious solidarity and 

REVOLUTIONARY FIGHTING SPIR t! WITH YOU FOR THE LIBERATION 
OF THE WORKING CLASS ! WITH YOU FOR THE WORLD REVOLUTION!" 

From The One Big Union Monthly, Chicago, November, 1919. 

"On the industrial field, the workers continue to be without a 
vote, just as they used to be on the political field. . . . We haven't 
got a single word to say in the deciding of the quantity and quality 
.of what shaU be produced, nor a single word to say as to the distri- 
bution of the products of labor. We have not a word to say in 
regard to wages, hours, or working conditions. Just as before the 
time of the political franchise we had no way of carrying out our 
will except political revolution or insurrection, so we have now, on 
the industrial field, no way of making our wiU felt except through 
industrial insurrections or so-called strikes, for the strike is funda- 
mentally nothing else than an industrial insurrection." 

From The One Big Union Monthly, Chicago, November, 1919. 

"Liberty is practically dead in this country. Courageous and 
daring truth speakers are either made harmless or are silenced, and 
the field of publicity is reserved solely for the criminal philosophy 
of profiteerdom. Rapacious ' business men' and gamblers are spread- 
ing themselves insolently with their platitudes and their criminal 
principles in the columns of the newspapers, and what they say is 
made to weigh as much as the word of God. These terrorists have 
bit the head off shame and turned morals upside down. Right 
is what agrees with the interests of these robbers; wrong is what 
is contrary thereto. The so-called 'intelligentzia,' consisting of 
professors, lawyers, journalists, physicians, priests, and others with 
a university education, have long ago been made so dependent that 
they no longer dare to speak the truth, and if they should do so, there 



MILITANT SOCIALISM: THE I. W. W. 193 

is no publicity given to it, for swindlcdom controls the whole big 
press." 

From The One Big Union Monthly, Chicago, August, 1919. 

"Of course, the farmer . . . considers it preposterous that any- The farmer 

body should propose to disturb him in the ownership of the land ™ust give 

up his land, 
that he has himself conquered from the wilderness, bought for cold 

cash, or inherited from his family. But . . . the day will come 
when the farmer himself will prepare to surrender his title to the land 
to the people as a whole, represented by the agricultural organiza- 
tion, and place himself as a worker on the One Big United States 
farm, side by side with the men who now are organized in the Agri- 
cultural Workers Industrial Un on of the I. W. W." 

From The One Big Union Monthly, Chicago, June, 1919. 

"We are facing a revolution. The masters say that it will not Revolution 
come and that it must not come. ... ^* hand. 

"Hoping for it or hoping against it, we are facing a revolution. . . . 

"Up against the dykes comes the strong tidal wave of proletarian 
will to revolt. 

"In spite of denials, of wails and curses, a creeping terror grips The 
the masters' vitals. employers 

terrified. 

"They are preparing in the shadow of deadly peril, in the mad 
panic of those who do not understand. . . . Their own terror bears 
testimony of the reality of the cataclysm in preparation. . . . 

"Workers! Upon your shoulders rests the destiny of the future. Mankind 

Mankind looks for an iron pillar to lean against in the crucial times 1°°''^,^,? ^^^ 

I. W. W. for 
at hand. Get together in the One Big Union built on the rock bottom liberation. 

of modern production. It is up to you to subdue the mad dogs 

of capitalism and open the gates of freedom." 

84. The call for a socialist revolution * 

The industrial revolutionists have found few adherents among The secretly 

the workingmen of the United States, and have had Httle effect distributed 
. . . handbill as 

upon pubhc opmion m this country. This general failure cannot a method of 

be attributed to the lack of an aggressive spirit in their organiza- Propaganda. 

tions, for certainly these groups have been most active in urging 

1 From the American Anarchist Federated Commune Soviets, Anarchist Soviet 
Bulletin, New York, July, 1919. 



194 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Why the 
Allies con- 
tinued to 
blockade 
Russia. 



How to 
stop this 
hideous 



We must 
act quickly! 



On with the 
revolution ! 



sabotage, the general strike, and revolution. A favorite method of 
propaganda has been the use of secretly distributed handbills. Typi- 
cal of these handbills is the "Anarchist Soviet Bulletin," issued by 
a group of the I. W. W. type, which, immediately after the World 
War, adopted the name of "The American Anarchist Federated 
Commune Soviets." One of the articles in the July, 191 9, bulletin 
ran as follows: 

... Do you WORKERS know the reason why the Allies are [going 
to continue to blockade Russia?] because the success op the 
workers' commune SOVIETS [the Russian bolshevists during the 
period of the World War] means the beginning of the down- 
fall OF capitalism all over the world! ... 

So, if capitalism through the allied governments has taken upon 
itself to crush the workers' Soviets of russia and bring back the 
rule of czardom, then it only shows that it is their final stand, in order 
to maintain their dying system, for they have taken up a war not 
only against the workers of russia but against the workers 

OF THE WHOLE WORLD ! . . . 

What are you going to do about it? What is your answer to this 
challenge of capitalism? . . . 

What is needed, is not appeals to capitalism and its political tools 
to save that which it is to their interest to destroy. The only way 
to stop this hideous, heart-breaking, murderous crime against our 
fellow workers in Russia is for us to take matters into our own 
hands and act quickly! . . . 

We must act quickly! In our shops, mines, mills, and factories, 
in our unions, forums and societies, wherever the workers gather, 
this matter must be taken up. Let a ringing message echo around 
the world that the workers of America have called a General Strike, 
not only to block the attempt to revive the old czardom, but also 
to organize workers' communist Soviets in every center in America 
and begin to take over every industry in the country. 

Let our message to the Workers' Soviets of Russia be "keep up 

YOUR courageous BATTLE FOR FREEDOM! THE WORKING CLASS 
OF THE ENTIRE WORLD WILL SOON BE FIGHTING ON THE BARRICADES 
OF THE SOCIAL REVOLUTION AGAINST CAPITALISM, ITS AGENTS AND 
UPHOLDERS, THE GOVERNMENT, THE CHURCH AND THE PRESS. 



MILITANT SOCIALISM: THE I. W. W. 1 95 

WE THE WORKERS OF THE WORLD, HAVE COMMITTED A GREAT CRIME 
AGAINST YOU RUSSIAN WORKERS, BY REMAINING SILENT AND SUB- 
MISSIVE, BUT NOW WE WILL SUBMIT AND KEEP SILENT NO LONGER! 
WE WILL BEGIN TO ACT NOT ONLY TO SAFEGUARD YOUR FREEDOM 
BUT ALSO TO FREE OURSELVES! 

Workers of America! Unite into Workers' Soviets everywhere, Get ready 
get ready to respond to the call of the general strike throughout ^°^ *^^^ 
THE country, for that great day will mark the beginning of the strike. 
social revolution. The Workers' Soviets of Russia shall never be 
destroyed! 

Their destruction means our continuation in slavery! 

Their victory means our hberation and the liberation of the workers 
of the World! 

Therefore we call upon the workers of all countries and Act at 

UPON THE WORKERS OF AMERICA TO ACT! AND ACT AT ONCE!! °"^^- 



Questions on the foregoing Readings 

1. When and why was the I. W. W. organization formed? 

2. What attitude was expressed toward trade unionism in the mani- 

festo calling a convention to organize the I. W. W.? 

3. What does the preamble to the constitution of the I. W. W. say 

about class struggle? 

4. What revolutionary watchword was to be inscribed on the banner 

of the I. W. W.? 

5. Who was Dr. Maximilian Cohen? 

6. Outline the views of this man with regard to " mass action " and 

the social revolution. 

7. What opinion did Dr. Cohen express with regard to the government 

of the United States? 

8. Define sabotage. 

9. Outline the statement of Vincent St. John with respect to sabotage. 

10. How does Robert Hunter describe sabotage? 

11. What is the threefold object of, the I. W. W. press? 

12. What message did the New Solidarity convey to the working classes 

of Germany in 1919? 

13. What opinion was expressed in the November, 19 19, issue of 

The One Big Union Monthly, as to liberty in this country? 

14. What prophecy was contained in the August, 1919, issue of The 

One Big Union Monthly with respect to the farmer and land 
ownership? 



196 READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 

15. What is a favorite method of advocating sabotage, the general 

strike, and revolution? 

16. Outline the contents of the Anarchist Soviet Bulletin for July, 

1 9 19, with respect to the general strike and the social revolution. 



CHAPTER XV 
MILITANT SOCIALISM: THE BOLSHEVISTS 

85. Socialism is established in Russia ^ 

Ever since the days of Karl Marx sociahsts the world over had At last the 
been agitating for the "social revolution." This revolution came ^^^-0^ '*'''*'' 
in Russia in 1917. On November 7 of that year the reins of govern- 
ment were seized by a group of sociahsts calling themselves "com- 
munists," but better known as "bolshevists." On July 10, 1918, 
the bolshevists adopted a constitution, which began with the 
following declaration of rights: 

A. Article One. Declaration of Rights of the 
Laboring and Exploited People 

Chapter One 

1. Russia is declared to be a Repubhc of the Soviets of Workers', Russia de- 
Soldiers', and Peasants' Deputies. All the central and local power ^^§0^}^^° 
belongs to these Soviets. Republic 

2. The Russian Soviet Republic is organized on the basis of a 
free union of free nations, as a federation of Soviet national repubhcs. 

Chapter Two 

3. Bearing in mind as its fundamental problem the aboHtion of The Con- 
the exploitation of men by men, the entire abolition of the division ^^^^^^ 

of the people into classes, the suppression of exploiters, the estab- Republic 
lishment of a sociaUst society, and the victory of sociaHsm in all 
lands, the Third AU-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers', Soldiers', 
and Peasants' Deputies further resolves: 

(o) For the purpose of attaining the sociahzation of land, all pri- 
vate property in land is abohshed, and the entire land is declared 

1 From the Russian Socialist Federated Soviet Republic, Constitution, 
Article i, Chapters i and 11. 

197 



198 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



declares 
abolished 
the private 
ownership 
of land. 

Other 
industrial 
resources 
are also 
declared to 
be national 
property. 



Declarations 
with regard 
to loans 



and banks. 



A Socialist 
Red Army 
and its 
purpose. 



to be national property and is to be apportioned among agricultur- 
ists without any compensation to the former owners, in the measure 
of each one's ability to tiU it. 

(b) All forests, treasures of the earth, and waters of general public 
utility, aU equipment whether animate or inanimate, model farms 
and agricultural enterprises, are declared to be national property. 

(c) As a first step toward complete transfer of ownership to the 
Soviet RepubUc of all factories, mills, mines, railways, and other 
means of production and transportation, the Soviet law for the 
control by workmen and the establishment of the Supreme Soviet 
of National Economy is hereby confirmed, so as to insure the power 
of the workers over the exploiters. 

(d) With reference to international banking and finance, the 
Third Congress of Soviets is discussing the Soviet decree regarding 
the annulment of loans made by the Government of the Czar, by 
landowners and the bourgeoisie, and it trusts that the Soviet Gov- 
ernment wiU firmly follow this course until the final victory of the 
international workers' revolt against the oppression of capital. 

(e) The transfer of all banks to the ownership of the Workers' 
and Peasants' Government, as one of the conditions of the libera- 
tion of the toiling masses from the yoke of capital, is confirmed. 

(/) Universal obligation to work is introduced for the purpose of 
eliminating the parasitic strata of society and organizing the economic 
Hfe of the country. 

(g) For the purpose of securing the working class in the possession 
of complete power, and in order to eliminate all possibility of re- 
storing the power of the exploiters, it is decreed that all workers be 
armed, and that a Sociahst Red Army be organized and the propertied 
class disarmed. 



The bol- 
shevist 
constitution 
limited the 
suffrage 



86. The suffrage under bolshevism^ 

One accepted index to the political character of a nation is the 

extent to which the adult population of that nation enjoy the right 

to vote. A century and a half ago, it was generally true that the 

masses of the people had relatively httle control over the conduct 

1 From the Russian Socialist Federated Soviet Republic, Cow5/i/M//o», Article rv. 
Chapter xni. 



MILITANT SOCIALISM: THE BOLSHEVISTS 1 99 

of their government; more recently, however, the steady spread of 
democracy has markedly extended the suffrage. The plea of some 
socialists has long been for an even greater control of government by 
the masses, yet the Russian socialists definitely and unqualifiedly 
excluded important classes of the population from the suffrage. 
The following excerpts from the bolshevist constitution illustrate 
the attitude of the Russian socialists toward the suffrage: 

Chapter Thirteen 

64. The right to vote and to be elected to the Soviets is enjoyed to certain 
by the following citizens of both sexes, irrespective of religion, nation- groups 
ality, domicile, etc., of the Russian Sociahst Federated Soviet Re- 

pubHc, who shall have completed their eighteenth year by the day 
of election: 

(o) All who have acquired the means of livelihood through labor 
that is productive and useful to society, and also persons engaged • 
in housekeeping which enables the former to do productive work, 
i.e., laborers and employees of all classes who are employed in indus- 
try, trade, agriculture, etc., and peasants and Cossack agricultural 
laborers who employ no help for the purpose of making profits. 

{b) Soldiers of the army and navy of the Soviets. 

(c) Citizens of the two preceding categories who have in any 
degree lost their capacity to work. 

65. The following persons enjoy neither the right to vote nor the while a 

right to be voted for, even though they belong to one of the categories P""^"^"" «' 

enumerated above, namely: classes were 

{a) Persons who employ hired labor in order to obtain from it specifically 

denied the 
an increase in profit. ballot. 

{h) Persons who have an income without doing any work, such 
as interest from capital, receipts from property, etc. 

(c) Private merchants, trade and commercial brokers. 

{d) Monks and clergy of all dehominations. 

{e) Employees and agents of the former police, the gendarme 
corps, and the Okhrana (Czar's secret service), also members of the 
former reigning dynasty. 

(/) Persons who have in legal form been declared demented or 
mentally deficient, and also persons under guardianship. 



200 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



{g) Persons who have been deprived, by a Soviet, of their rights 
of citizenship because of selfish or dishonorable offenses, for the period 
fixed by the sentence. 



Lenin and 
Trotzky 
established 
a dictator- 
ship of the 
proletariat. 



In defend- 
ing this 
dictatorship, 
Lenin de- 
clared 

it to be a 
normal and 
familiar 
stage in 
historical 
develop- 
ment. 



87. Lenin defends the dictatorship of the proletariat ^ 

Shortly after the promulgation of the bolshevist constitution, 
Lenin and Trotzky, the two bolshevist leaders, established a dictator- 
ship of the proletariat. This amounted to a despotic control of the 
masses of the people by a small group of bolshevists, maintained 
in power by armed force. Under this dictatorship, socialism was 
applied on a nation-wide scale. The system of private property 
was aboHshed, the capitalist and employing classes were deprived 
of their holdings, and the industrial equipment of the nation was 
turned over to the bolshevist workmen. That the socialist experi- 
ment might be free from hindrance, the bolshevists suppressed free- 
dom of assemblage, freedom of the press, and other privileges which 
might operate to bring the great experiment to an unsuccessful con- 
clusion. Early in March, 1919, Lenin defended these measures in 
the following language: 

. . . History teaches that no oppressed class has ever come into 
power and cannot come into power, without passing through a period 
of dictatorship, that is, the conquest of power and the forcible sup- 
pression of the most desperate and mad resistance, who does not 
hesitate to resort to any crimes, such as always has been shown by the 
exploiters. The bourgeoisie . . . has won power in the progressive 
countries at the price of a series of uprisings, civil wars, forcible sup- 
pression of kings, feudal lords, and slave owners, and of their attempts 
at restoration. The socialists of all countries, in their books and 
pamphlets, in the resolutions of their congresses, in their propaganda 
speeches, have explained to the people thousands and millions of 
times the class character of these bourgeois revolutions, and of this 
bourgeois dictatorship. 

Therefore the present defense of bourgeois democracy in the form 
of speeches about "democracy in general," and the present wails 
and shouts against the dictatorship of the proletariat in the form 

1 From Nickolai Lenin, as reported in the Petrograd Pravda, March 8, igig. 



MILITANT SOCIALISM: THE BOLSHEVISTS 20l 

of wails about "dictatorship in general," are a direct mockery of He chides 
socialism, and represent in fact going over to the bourgeoisie and g^^jj^'jjgj^'''" 
denying the right of the proletariat to its own proletarian revolution, groups for 
and a defense of bourgeois reformism, precisely at the historic moment J'^g^undem^* 
when bourgeois reformism is collapsing the world over, and when ocratic 
the war has created a revolutionary situation. . . . the'dku-"^ 

"Freedom of meeting" may be taken as an example of the demands torship. 
for "pure democracy." Any conscious workman who has not broken 
with his own class will understand immediately that it would be 
stupid to permit freedom of meeting to exploiters at this period, and 
under the present circumstances, when the exploiters are resisting 
their overthrow, and are fighting for their privileges. . . . 

"Freedom of press" is also one of the main arguments of "pure Lenin on 
democracy," but again the workmen know that the sociahsts of all ^^^ ^ 
countries have asserted miUions of times that this freedom is a fraud 
so long as the best printing machinery and the largest supplies of 
paper have been seized by the capitahsts, and so long as the power 
of capital over the press continues. ... In order to secure actual 
equaUty and actual democracy for the toilers, for workmen and 
peasants, one must first take from capitalists the possibility of hiring 
writers, of buying up publishing houses, of buying up newspapers, 
and to this end must overthrow the yoke of capital, overthrow the 
exploiters, and put down all resistance on their part. . . . 

The essence of the Soviet authority consists in this, that the per- The essence 
manent and sole basis of all State authority, of the entire apparatus authority, 
of government, is the mass organization precisely of those classes 
which were oppressed by capitaHsm, that is, of the workmen and of 
the half -proletarians (peasants who did not exploit the labor of another 
and constantly had to sell at least a portion of their labor strength). 
Precisely those masses (which even in the most democratic bourgeois 
republics had equal rights before the law, but in fact were deprived 
of participation in the political hfe of the country, and [were also 
deprived of democratic rights and hberties] by thousands of tricks 
and traps . . .) are now brought into constant and actual . . . par- 
ticipation in the democratic administration of the State. . . . 



202 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



The bol- 
shevists set 
out to fo- 
ment world 
revolution. 



The work 
of bolshe- 
vist propa- 
gandists in 
the domain 
of inter- 
national re- 
lations, 



in the field 
of internal 
pohtics, 



in the 

economic 

sphere, 



88. Aims of bolshevist propagandists abroad ^ 

The bolshevists were no sooner in power in Russia than they began 
to urge to revolution the various radical groups in other countries. 
In this attempt to foment international revolution, the bolshevist 
authorities issued numerous statements and proclamations. In 
the summer of 1919, for example, the bolshevist government issued 
the following instructions to its agents in foreign countries: 

The work of bolshevist organization in foreign countries is regulated 
as foUows: 

1. In the domain of international relations: 

(a) Assist all chauvinistic measures and foster all international 
discords. 

(b) Stir up agitation that may serve to bring on industrial conflict. 

(c) Try to assassinate the representatives of foreign countries. 
(Thanks to these methods, interior discords and coups d'etat 

wiU occur, such agitation working to the advantage of the social 
democratic party.) 

2. In the domain of internal pohtics: 

(a) Compromise by every possible means the influential men of 
the country; attack people in office; stir up anti-government agi- 
tation. 

(b) Instigate general and particular strikes; injure machinery 
and boilers in factories, spread propaganda literature. 

(Thanks to these methods, destruction of government and the 
seizure of power will be facihtated.) 

3. In the economic sphere: 

(a) Induce and sustain railroad strikes; destroy bridges and 
tracks; do everything possible to disorganize transport. 

(b) Interfere with and prevent if possible the transport of food 
suppHesinto the cities; provoke financial troubles; flood the markets 
with counterfeit bank notes, appoint everywhere special committees 
for this work. 

» From the Russian SociaUst Federated Soviet Republic, "General Instructions 
to Foreign Agents," issued in igig. 



MILITANT SOCIALISM: THE BOLSHEVISTS 203 

(In this way economic disorganization will bring its inevitable 
catastrophe and the resulting revolution against the government 
will have the sympathy of the masses.) 

4. In the military sphere: and in the 

(a) Carry on intensive propaganda among the troops. Cause ^ ° 
misunderstandings between officers and soldiers. Unite the soldiers activity. 
to assassination of the higher officers. 

(b) Blow up arsenals, bridges, tracks, powder magazines. Prevent 
the delivery of supplies of raw materials to factories and mills. 

(Thus the complete destruction of the army will be accomplished 
and the soldiers will adopt the program of the social democratic 
workers.) 



89. The suicide letter of a bolshevist^ 

From the moment that they came into power (November 7, 1917), The sus- 
the bolshevists adopted measures which were admittedly violent go^-^^g^^'' 
and undemocratic. The bolshevist leaders believed that these Russia was 
measures were necessary in order to establish sociaHsm in Russia. '^ ^^^^^ 
They believed, too, that the benefits of socialism would appear so 
quickly and in such abundance that the rigors of the "transition 
period" would appear trivial and uninfluential in comparison. But 
despite the efforts of the authorities, applied socialism worked so 
badly that even some of its most ardent supporters began to suspect 
that it was a mistaken scheme. On April 24, 1919, N. Lopoushkin, 
a prominent bolshevist official in Kirsnov, Russia, wrote a letter 
to the Central Soviet of Workmen's Deputies at Moscow, expressing 
his conviction that socialism was a failure. After writing this letter, 
he committed suicide. The letter follows: 

My colleagues of the Kirsnov Soviet are writing to tell you that expressed 
I am no longer fit to hold the position of President of the Soviet, ^ ^. [* " 
that I am a counter-revolutionary, that I have lost my nerve, and cial. 
am a traitor to our cause. Perhaps they are right — I only wish I 
knew. . . . 

Speaking frankly, we are, in my opinion, on the brink of a terrible 



From J. Landfield, "A Commissar Disillusioned." The Review, October 4, 1919. 



204 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



The reasons 
for his 
despair: 



murder, 
license, 



famine, 
torture, 
terror, 
and utter 
misery. 



The author- 
ities de- 
morahzed. 



Bolshevism 
hated by 
the people 
it sought to 
uphft. 



disaster, which will leave its imprint, not only upon socialism, but 
upon our nation for centuries, a disaster which will give our descend- 
ants the right to regard us bolshevists at the best as crazy fanatics, 
and at the worst, as foul imposters and ghastly muddlers, who mur- 
dered and tortured a nation for the sake of an unattainable Utopian 
theory, and who in our madness sold our birthright amongst the 
peoples for less than the proverbial mess of pottage. 

All around me, wherever I look, I see unmistakable signs of our 
approaching doom, and yet no one responds to my appeals for help; 
my voice is as the voice of one crying in a wilderness. In the towns 
I have just come from, chronic hunger, murder, and the license and 
hbertinage of the criminal elements, who undoubtedly hold numerous 
executive positions under our Soviets, have reduced the population 
to the level of mere brute beasts, who drag out a dull, semi-conscious 
existence, devoid of joy in to-day, and without hope for the morrow. 

Surely this should not be the result of the earthly Paradise which 
the Soviets were to introduce into our lives. Nor did I find the posi- 
tion any better on the railways. Everywhere a people living under 
the dread of famine, death, torture, and terror, everywhere groaning 
and utter misery. My countrymen, whom I love, and whom I had 
hoped to assist to render happy above all nations, look at me either 
with the mute uncomprehending eyes of brutes condemned to slaugh- 
ter, or else with the red eyes of fury and vengeance. . ." . 

Speculation is rife amongst even the humble inhabitants in the 
country villages, who have forced a lump of sugar up to four roubles, 
and a pound of salt up to forty roubles. And the bolshevist militia 
and the Soviets? When they are called upon to deal with various in- 
fringements of the bolshevist decrees, they either try to get out of 
taking action altogether, or else they pretend that there is insufificient 
evidence to commit for trial. ... 

No member of the Red Guard dare risk his Ufe by returning to 
his native village, where his father would be the first to kill him. 
I maintain that there must be something wrong with a regime which 
has aroused such universal hatred, in such a comparatively short 
time; and amongst whom? Amongst the very class it strove to 
upKft, to free, to benefit, and to render happy. . . . 

I feel tired and depressed. I know that the Red Terror was a 



MILITANT SOCIALISM: THE BOLSHEVISTS 205 

mistake, and I have a terrible suspicion that our cause has been be- 
trayed at the moment of its utmost realization. 

Yours in fraternal greeting, 

N. LOPOUSHKIN 

90. The bolshevists return to the capitalistic system ^ 

The conditions to which Lopoushkin had called attention were Lenin 
meanwhile impressing themselves upon the minds of other bolshevist ^Jg'g^^tkl*^'^ 
officials. At length even Lenin was convinced that only a return features of 
to capitalistic methods would save the country from ruin. Accord- ^^^^^^'^^ 
ingly, free initiative and open competition in certain forms of trade end of 
were allowed. The socialization of railroads, mills and natural ^^^^' 
resources was halted. Land was again cultivated under the wage 
system. By the end of 1919 the essential features of capitalism had 
been accepted by Lenin and Trotzky, the bolshevists continuing 
in power as a despotic group which maintained its authority by armed 
force. On August 9, 1921, Lenin issued an important decree, in which In 1921 
he paved the way for a more complete abandonment of socialism. ^ ^^^^^ 
The following are excerpts from a press report of the contents of 
this document: 

[]The decree states that the bolshevist government] must take 
most energetic measures to save the situation, which can be done 
only by carrying out in a firm and businesslike way the following in- 
structions and directions with regard to the new economic policy. . . . 

Section 3 [of the decree] sets forth four feasons which led to the his reasons 
abandonment of the old pohcy. They were: first, the vast number .°|.f'^' 
of enterprises which the State attempted to direct without having abandoning 
adequate supplies of food and material; second, the confusion of sociaism, 
powers and handhng of suppUes which resulted in "too much red 
tape, cross instructions and irresponsibility"; third, the fact that 
"with such methods of supply and with the methods of remuneration 
of labor those engaged in production were not and could not be inter- 
ested in the work or in improvement of the methods of production"; 
fourth, the war and the extreme exhaustion of Russia. 

Section 4 runs thus: "In order to prevent the further deterioration and admits 

1 From the New York Times, "Lenin Gives Reasons Why Policy Failed." Au- 
gust 14, ig2i. Section i, page 2. 



2o6 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



the neces- 
sity of a 
new policy, 

in which 
socialist 
activities 
are to be 
restricted, 



while indus- 
try is to be 
directed 
more and 
more in 
accordance 
with capi- 
talistic 
methods. 



A further 
concession. 



Socialist 
principles 
with respect 
to trade 
and the 
monetary 
system are 
abandoned. 



of national life it is necessary to remodel this life on the following 
lines: 

"The State . . . will concentrate under its direct management 
certain branches of production and a certain number of great enter- 
prises of national importance and their auxiliaries. Such estabhsh- 
ments shall be conducted on strict economic principles. The Supreme 
Economic Council and its subordinates shall be allowed to start 
and conduct enterprises only when there is assurance of sufi&cient 
materials, money, etc. . . ." 

Section 5 says that the establishments and enterprises not included 
in the above groups shall be leased to cooperatives, commercial 
companies and other collective bodies, and to private individuals, 
according to a decree governing such leases. It adds that "Soviet 
institutions shall take most energetic steps to lease such establish- 
ments as cannot now be conducted by the Soviet economic organiza- 
tions or are being conducted without success, in order to relieve the 
strain of the State machinery." 

Section 6 provides for shutting down the establishments which 
are not leased or which the State decides not to run, and the dis- 
tribution of the better workers among the other estabhshments. 

Section 7 emphasizes the importance of small industries as auxiliary 
to State industry and peasant agriculture, and adds: "It has been 
thought necessary to create conditions in which State industrial 
workers and artisans may normally develop production and enjoy 
the free disposal of the fruits of their work." . . . 

Section 10 ... is perhaps the most revolutionary of aU. It says: 
"... To resuscitate the national economic life, it is necessary to de- 
velop free commercial intercourse between town and country, and 
in particular to revise the monetary system. Therefore, measures 
must be taken not only to develop goods exchange as medium of 
local trade, but also to inaugurate within the Umits of possibility 
and expediency the circulation and use of money as a means of 
exchange." . . . 



Questions on the foregoing Readings 

1. When did the bolshevists seize the reins of government in Russia? 

2. When was the bolshevist constitution adopted? 



MILITANT SOCIALISM: THE BOLSHEVISTS 207 

3. Summarize the principles expressed in Article One, Chapter Two, 

of the bolshevist constitution. 

4. What classes of citizens were allowed to vote under the bolshevist 

regime? 

5. Name some groups of individuals which were excluded from the 

suffrage. 

6. Define the " dictatorship of the proletariat " as applied by the 

bolshevists. 

7. Why did the bolshevists suppress the freedom of meeting and 

other similar safeguards to the liberty of the individual? 

8. In what terms did Lenin defend the dictatorship of the proletariat? 

9. Why did he consider " freedom of meeting " impossible under 

bolshevism? 

10. What was Lenin's attitude toward freedom of the press? 

11. What, according to Lenin, was the essence of Soviet authority? 

12. What did the bolshevists urge upon radical groups in countries 

other than Russia? 

13. Outline the work of bolshevist propagandists in foreign countries 

with regard to international relations. 

14. How were bolshevist propagandists instructed to act with regard 

to the internal politics of foreign countries? 

15. Outline the aims of bolshevist propagandists " in the economic 

sphere." 

16. What were to be the aims of bolshevist propagandists " in the 

military sphere"? 

17. Give the chief reason why the bolshevist official, Lopoushkin, 

feared for the future of bolshevism. 

18. What, according to this man, were the general effects of bolshevism 

in Russia? 

19. What were some of the earlier steps taken by Lenin in the matter 

of a return to capitalistic methods? 

20. What is the importance of the decree issued by Lenin on August 9, 

1921? 

21. Give the four reasons why the socialist policy of the bolshevists 

was abandoned. 

22. To what extent did the decree of August 9, 192 1, provide for 

private control of production? 

23. To what extent did this decree provide for the application of 

capitalistic methods to commercial intercourse and the monetary 
system? 



CHAPTER XVI 
THE CASE AGAINST SOCIALISM 



Importance 
of disprov- 
ing the 
labor theory 
of value. 



This theory 
does not 
account for 
the value of 
land, 



nor for the 
value of 
commodities 
in the nar- 
row, Marx- 
ian sense. 



91. The labor theory of value is untrue ^ 

The most striking proof of the untrustworthiness of socialism is 
the fact that the whole socialist doctrine is based upon false principles. 
We have seen that sociahsm is founded primarily upon the labor 
theory of value. If the labor theory is disproved, therefore, the chief 
stone is removed from the foundation of socialism. In the following 
extract, Professor Le Rossignol explains why the labor theory of 
value is untrue: 

[The labor theory of value, or the labor-cost theory, as it is often 
called], certainly does not account for the value of land, particularly 
of unimproved city lots. Such land can be exchanged for cotton, 
wheat, hats, silver, or gold, and must, therefore, have some property 
in common with them aU, which is the cause and measure of its value. 
But it cannot be labor-cost, for land is a product of nature. . . . 

When we come to commodities in the narrow, Marxian sense of 
that word, we find innumerable exceptions to the supposed law that 
"commodities in which equal quantities of labor are embodied, 
or which can be produced in the same time, have the same value." 
Old coins, stamps, manuscripts, autographs, birds' eggs, fossils, and 
the thousand and one objects dear to the heart of collectors, are surely 
to be classed as commodities, although there is no discoverable rela- 
tion between their market value and their cost of product as measured 
in labor-time. What was the labor-cost of the Sistine Madonna? 
What would be its cdst of reproduction? What is the labor-cost of 
a rare stamp or coin? How much "congealed labor" is there in the 
egg of that extinct bird, the Great Auk, which sold some years ago 
for the enormous sum of $1200. On the other hand, how many hours 

1 From James Edward Le Rossignol, Orthodox Socialism. T. Y. Crowell & Co., 
New York, 1907; pp. 15, 17-20. 

208 



THE CASE AGAINST SOCIALISM 209 

of human labor did it cost to build the pyramids, how many sighs 

and tears and drops of blood, and what is their intrinsic value to-day? 

The works of authors, artists, and inventors are commodities in The theory 

the strictest sense of that word, and yet their market value has no '^'^'^f ."°^. 

■' _ explain the 

definite relation to the labor-time spent in their production. A value of the 
popular novelist may receive $50,000 from the sale of a book written ^°V^^ 
in six months, while his less fortunate brother, after spending six years artists and 
of unrequited toil, must publish his book at his own expense. . . . "^^entors. 
He has not been able to produce a work of social necessity; therefore 
his labor-time is wasted, and does not determine the value of the 
product. . . . 

Commodities subject to the caprice of fashion quickly lose their 
value when their usefulness is gone, no matter what their cost of 
production or reproduction. . . . 

Every farmer knows that the labor-cost theory fails to explain It fails to 
the value of agricultural produce. On some lands wheat may be ^^Pl^^n the 
grown at a cost of 50 cents a bushel; on poorer lands at 75 cents, agricultural 
$1, or $1.25, and yet the total supply, produced at various costs, P^duce. 
may be sold on the same market at $1 a bushel. This law of varying 
costs applies to the production of all raw materials: grain, meat, 
leather, cotton, wool, sugar, lumber, iron, clay, gold, silver, and the 
rest, because of the fact that land of the best quality is limited in 
quantity. In fact, the land-cost of these commodities has as much 
to do with their value as their labor-cost. But neither land-cost, 
labor-cost, or capital-cost can be regarded as of prime importance 
in determining the value of the product, which is due first of all 
to utiHty, or the power which commodities have to satisfy human 
wants. 

Finally, the value of staple manufactured articles, factory products. The value 
such as cotton and woolen goods, boots and shoes, refined sugar, staple 
and steel rails, is not determined chiefly by their labor-cost. In the tured goods 
first place, the value of the raw material of which they are composed 
is not so determined. In the second place, their value as finished is not ex- 
products is not determined solely by cost, which limits supply, nor by ^u^"|^^ 
UtiHty, which controls demand, but by both of these factors together, theory of 
Utility and cost are the two factors which determine value, and of ^'i'"*^' 
these UtiHty is chief. 



2IO 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



as the busi- 
ness man 
knows. 



The business man, whose profits arise from an excess of revenue 
over expenditure, and whose losses come from an excess of expenditure 
over revenue, knows well that the value of his goods depends as 
much upon the demand of the market as upon cost of production to 
himself or his competitors. What he must first of aU do is to supply 
an article which will satisfy some human want, otherwise he will 
not be able to sell. A useless article has no exchange value, no matter 
how great its cost. . . . 



We must 
reject 
Marx's 
statement 
that the 
laborer pro- 
duces all 
wealth. 



How social- 
ism inter- 
prets the 
word 
"labor." 



The need 
for expert 
direction 
of the 
workman. 



92. The laborer does not produce all wealth^ 

From the above extract it is clear, not that commodities have 
value in proportion as labor has been expended upon their production, 
but that they have value according as they possess utility and are 
scarce. The labor-theory of Marx is, therefore, untrue. From this 
it follows that we must also reject Marx's statement that the laborer 
produces aU wealth. If some commodities are valuable, i.e. con- 
stitute wealth, without regard to the amount of labor expended upon 
them, then some wealth is created by some other agency or influence 
than labor acting alone. In the following extract Mr. Brasol attempts 
to substantiate this theoretical conclusion by reference to practical 
conditions: 

The erroneous assertion of Marx and his followers that labor is 
the sole producer of wealth becomes stiU more accentuated when 
we remember that the term "labor" in socialist theories is always 
connected with the proletarian class. In other words, the formula 
that labor is the sole producer of wealth, in the socialist's con- 
ception, must read as foUows: "Manual labor is the sole producer of 
wealth." 

Considering this dogmatic premise in relation to the problem of 
erecting a modern office-building, the following can be remarked: 

Five hundred masons and five hundred carpenters, suinmoned to 
erect the Woolworth building, would be unable to cope with this 
task. The erection of a Woolworth building requires the knowledge 
and services of an architect, an engineer, a chemist, and a technologist. 



1 From Boris L. Brasol, Socialism versus Civilization. 
New York, ig2o; pp. 64-69. 



Chas. Scribner's Sons, 



THE CASE AGAINST SOCIALISM 211 

Those experts, who do not belong to labor in the Marxian sense, are 
as indispensable to the erection of a modern building as the carpenter 
and the mason. In one sense the expert is even more indispensable 
than the manual workman, because the latter can be replaced by the 
former, while the contrary is not true. The manual workman is 
unable to direct the activities of the expert, whereas the expert 
always directs the activities of the manual workman. . . . 

Therefore, contrary to Marx's affirmation, we must realize that Not two, 
modern production is the result, not of two factors — labor and ^^^.^J^^g^^re 
capital, the latter being but crystallized labor — but of at least four involved in 
factors, namely, physical elements, labor in the limited sense of manual P™ ^*^'^^°"- 
labor, mental labor of the expert and the manager, and capital. . . . 

Thus, economic practice proves that production is by no means 
the result of only two factors referred to by Marx, namely, labor and 
capital. Production is a process by which business ability directs the 
application of both mental and manual labor to the physical elements 
of capital. 

Thus, we are logically compelled to repudiate Marx's assertion The con- 
that labor is the sole producer of commodities. Moreover, recent ^^^^'^HiUquit 
socialist writers, even those of the most radical type — such as 
Mr. Hillquit — have admitted that Marx's assertion is wrong. In 
this connection Mr. Hillquit stated as follows: "It requires no 
special genius to demonstrate that all labor is not aUke nor equally 
productive. It is still more obvious that common manual labor is 
impotent to produce the wealth of modern nations — that organiza- 
tion, direction, and control are essential to productive work in the 
field of modern production and are just as much a factor in it as 
mere physical effort." 

This is a good confession, but unfortunately Mr. Hillquit and his His failure 
colleagues, both in Europe and in the United States, have never en- !° circulate 

° ^ ^ ' It among the 

deavored to make this point clear in the workmen's minds. On the working 

contrary, whenever a socialist writer or a bolshevist agitator appeals "^ ^^^^*' 

to labor directly, we always hear the old tune of the Marxian song, 

to the effect that labor is the sole producer of wealth, that capital 

is nothing but crystallized labor, and that "all wealth is due to labor, 

therefore, to the laborer all wealth is due." 

Such tactics are indeed mere hypocrisy. Notwithstanding all 



212 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Insistence 
of socialists 
upon the 
labor theory 
of value. 



Interde- 
pendence of 
the factors 
of produc- 
tion. 



the concessions which the more recent sociahst writers had to make 
to the opponents of sociaUsm, they still profess to believe that manual 
labor possesses the magic faculty of producing everything without 
the assistance of anybody or anything. Therefore, when it came 
to put the Marxian theory into practice, Mr. Trotzky did not 
hesitate ... to exterminate in the most brutal manner some fifty 
per cent of the Russian railroad engineers and skilled workmen. 

It is a characteristic feature of modern production that no indi- 
vidual social group can produce commodities without the material, 
physical, or intellectual support of other social groups, so that all 
those social groups combined form the productive part of the popu- 
lation. Thus, modern production is based upon the cooperation 
of various social groups. The moment this cooperation has ceased, 
the whole process of production must necessarily break down, or at 
least experience a serious disturbance. . . . 



The pre- 
dictions of 
Marx have 
not come 
true. 



93. The masses are not reduced to wage slavery^ 

Both Karl Marx and his followers have exaggerated the extent 
to which the masses of the people were being reduced to "wage 
slavery." The impression given by socialists is that the great major- 
ity of individuals are miserable wage slaves, while all of the good 
things of life are controlled and utilized by a relatively small class 
of "capitalists." Marx predicted that as time went on the class 
of wage slaves would grow larger and more miserable, while the 
middle classes would tend to disappear, leaving a small group of 
exploiters in control of most wealth. These predictions have not come 
true. The industrialization of the country is increasing the number 
of wage-earners, but instead of sinking into misery, these groups are 
increasingly prosperous. The middle classes are not disappearing, 
but are growing. Legislation is checking the concentration of wealth 
in the hands of a few. The following extracts from a statistical 
study by Alvin H. Hansen demonstrate the falsity of the statement 
that the masses of the people are reduced to wage slavery: 



1 From the American Statistical Association, Quarterly Publication. New York. 
Vol. xvii, December, 1920; pp. 421-422. 



THE CASE AGAINST SOCIALISM 



213 



Table III 



Urban upper and middle class, 

Rural group 

Urban workers 

Unclassified 



1870 


1880 


1890 


1900 


10.4 


II. 4 


151 


16. 2 


471 


43. 7 


36.8 


35° 


34 4 


36.6 


38.8 


40.3 


8.1 


8.2 


9 3 


8.5 



I9I0 



19. 2 

324 

42.3 

6.0 



The inurcas- 
ing indus- 
trialization 
of the 
country. 



The increasing industrialization of the country and the relatively 
decUning importance of agriculture are indicated in Table III. Here 
the gainfully employed population is grouped under three catego- 
ries, if we omit from our consideration that portion designated as 
unclassified. 

The first group includes the proprietors and officials, the lower 
salaried and professional classes. It is the "white collar" urban 
population, not all even moderately well circumstanced, but consti- 
tuting on the whole the middle and upper urban class. 

The second group is composed of all gainfully employed agricul- 
turists — the farmers, tenants, and farm laborers. This group rep- 
resents what remains of the old type of American individualists. 
The industrious and frugal tenant in most cases still becomes in time, 
though with increasing difficulty, a farm owner. The farm laborer, 
with the exception of the relatively migratory class, hopes to save 
enough to set up as an independent tenant. Getting on is still largely 
a matter of individual push and initiative. True, the problems of 
organization and control of markets loom larger and larger, but the 
road to independence and advancement is still open, even though 
it is not so easy and broad as before. 

The third class is composed of urban workers — the industrial 
wage-earners and servants. They are for the most part shut up in 
the wage system. If they are to better their condition they must 
do so not by way of escape to something else, but by improvement 
of their lot as wage- workers. 

The farming group is being increasingly cut into on one side by the 
business, salaried and professional group, and on the other side by 
the industrial wage-earners. The relative growth of the former 



The com- 
position of 
the three 
groups 



enumerated 
in Table 
III. 



Decline in 
the size of 
the farming 
group. 



214 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



38 % of our 
gainfully 
employed 
population 
are still in- 
dependent. 



group would seem to be a healthy sign, but it should be noted that 
a large part of this growth, nearly a half, in fact, is due to the rapid 
increase of the lower salaried employees, whose position is certainly 
not very desirable. Further than that, not only is the rural group 
decUning in relative importance, but within that group itself the 
opportunities for advancement are narrowing down, as has already 
been shown, because of the encroachment of tenants and farm laborers 
upon the farm-owning class. 

Yet in spite of these tendencies it is surprising to find what a 
large proportion of the gainfully employed population are business 
men, farmers and professional men. [The following table] shows 
that in 19 10 about 38 per cent still belonged to this independent 
class: 
I Table IV 



Proprietary and independent 

class 

Rural and urban working class . 
Unclassified 



1870 



44-3 
47.6 



43-3 
48.4 



1890 



41-5 
49.2 

9-3 



1900 



39-6 

51-9 

8.5 



1910 



37-9 

56.0 

6.0 



Disregarding again the unclassified, the gainfully employed popu- 
lation is here placed in two groups. One group is composed of the 
business and professional classes, farmers and the children of farmers. 
The latter, of course, expect to become independent farmers upon 
reaching maturity, and hence, while Hsted as laborers, from the 
standpoint of this classification they may properly be classed with 
the farmers. This, then, is the industrially independent group, 
independent not so much from the standpoint of income as from the 
standpoint of being one's own boss. 

The second group is composed of the rural and industrial wage- 
earners and the lower salaried employees. No doubt some of this 
group receive incomes in excess of many farmers, and even of pro- 
fessional and business men. But their outlook is different because 
of their place in the industrial system. ... • 



THE CASE AGAINST SOCIALISM 215 

94. Defects of socialist production ^ 

The three foregoing selections indicate that socialism is a false Further ob- 
doctrine because based upon mistaken premises. Those who object g^fj^^"^^" 
to socialism attack the doctrine from still another angle, i.e. they 
point out the defects of the economic organization which sociaHsm 
plans to establish. Of the numerous objections to the industrial 
organization of a socialist state, an important one is that sociaUsm 
could not build up or maintain an effective system of production. 
The failure of bolshevism in Russia threw light on the nature of socialist 
production, and lent weight to theoretical arguments which have 
long been urged against socialism. The following extract from the 
works of Dr. A. Schaeffle constitutes a typical example of the ob- 
jections which for more than a half century have been brought 
against sociaHsm as a method of production: 

... In the third place, social democracy [sociaUsm] promises Socialism 
an impossibiUty in undertaking, without danger to the efficiency of ^"V^^ "°^ 
production, to unite all branches of it, and in each branch all the coordinate 
separate firms and business- companies into one single body with pj-Q^^-^j^g 
uniform labor-credit and uniform estimation of labor-time. Herein forces of 
it goes upon the supposition that the whole tendency of production 
is towards business on a large scale with local self-complete branches 
on factory lines. Yet this is a most arbitrary assumption. Even 
in trade there will always remain over a mass of small scattered 
pursuits that entirely escape control. . . . 

In agriculture the large self-complete factory system is excluded The case of 
by the nature of the case. ... It may well be that in the agriculture ^|"^^" ^"^^ 
of the future there will be more and more introduction of collective cial obstacles 
administration for purposes of traction, the in-coming and out-going 
of produce, and for irrigation and draining, for the common use of 
machinery, and for operation of loading and despatch. But farming 
on a large scale ... is not possible as a universal system; . . . agri- 
culture, unlike other industries, tends in the direction of small or 
moderately large concerns. . . . And how in any case could it be 
possible without any authoritative organ of control or regulation 

1 From A. Schaeffle, The Impossibility of Social Democracy. Swan, Sonnen- 
schein & Co., London, 1892; pp. 69-74. 



to sociahsm. 



2l6 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Socialism 
cannot ful- 
fill its prom- 
ise to in- 
crease the 
national 
productiv- 
ity. 



The reason 
for this. 



to draw all the varied and scattered branches of agricultural labor 
into one simple homogeneous system, and to reduce all labor to terms 
of average social labor-time. . . . Social democracy will inevita- 
bly fall to pieces at last, though it start with the most successful 
revolution ever achieved. 

Social democracy, in the fourth place, promises to the industrial 
proletariat a fabulous increase in the net result of dividends of the 
national revenue, and a general rise of labor-returns all round. This 
increased productivity of industry would perhaps be conceivable 
if a firm administration could be set over the collective production, 
and if it were also possible to inspire all the producers with the highest 
interest ahke in diminishing the cost, and in increasing the pro- 
ductiveness of labor. But social democracy as such refuses to vest 
the necessary authority in the administration, and does not know 
how to introduce an adequate system of rewards and punishments 
for the group as a whole, and for the individuals in each productive 
group, however necessary a condition this may be of a really high 
level of production. For otherwise, of course, there would be no 
freedom and no equality. 

Therefore, on the side of productivity again, all these delusive 
representations as to the capacity and possibiHty of democratic 
collective production are groundless. Without giving both every 
employer and everyone employed the highest individual interest 
in the work, and involving them in profits or losses as the case may 
be, both ideal and material, it would be utterly impossible to attain 
even such a measure of productivity for the national labor as the 
capitalistic system manages to extract from capital profit, even in 
the face of risk, and with varjdng scales of remuneration. The 
introduction of even stronger and more effective guarantees of uni- 
versal thrift and efficiency in a partially collective system may at 
first sight appear to be not impossible. . . . But this result is im- 
possible if the only means of bringing it about is to be resolutely 
rejected and denied, namely, the free and ungrudging assignment of 
a larger proportion of material and ideal good to the real aristocracy 
of merit. Without a sufficiently strong and attractive reward for 
individual or corporate preeminence, without strongly deterrent 
drawbacks and compensatory obligation for bad and unproductive 



THE CASE AGAINST SOCIALISM 217 

work, a colleclive system of production is inconceivable, or at least 
any system that would even distantly approach in efficiency the 
capitaUstic system of to-day. . . . 

So long as men are not incipient angels — and that will be for a Conclusion. 
good while yet — democratic collective production can never make 
good its promises, because it will not tolerate the methods of reward 
and punishment for the achievements of individuals and of groups, 
which under its system would need to be specially and peculiarly 
strong. . . . 



95. Defects of socialist distribution ^ 

Another objection to the program of sociahsts is that the socialist A further 

theory of distribution is defective. Not only would socialism find o^JpcUon to 

■' ■' _ _ socialism. 

it difficult or impossible to maintain effective production, but social- 
ism has been unable to demonstrate that it would be able to distribute 
wealth in accordance with the principles of both justice and economy. 
In the following selection. Professor Ely recapitulates some of the 
chief objections to socialism as a scheme of distribution: 

We have already learned that socialists wish to secure justice in Equality a 
distribution, but that they have not been able to agree upon a ^" anienta 

•' or principle in 

standard of distributive justice, although they now generally seem the socialist 

disposed to regard equality in distribution as desirable. hJ^Jk,,?;^ 

Equality is unquestionably the simplest and easiest solution of 

the problem of distribution under socialism; and it is frequently 

argued that it meets all the requirements of distributive justice, 

because it is held that, essentially, one man has rights equal to 

those which any other enjoys. 

Socialism compels us to agree upon a standard of distributive Some dif- 



distribution. 



justice which would be generally acceptable, and which would enlist ^^"''^•'^s. »( 
the services of the most gifted and talented members of the commu- theory of 
nity. If we depart from the principle of equality, it is difficult in the distribution. 
extreme to establish any standard in accordance with fixed principles, 
calculated to settle controversy. Let us suppose we decide to dis- 
tribute material goods in accordance with merit or service rendered. 

1 From Richard T. Ely, Socialism and Social Reform. T. Y. Crowell & Co., 
New York, iSgs; pp. 233-237. 



2l8 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Examples. 



Difficulty of 
distribution 
according to 
needs. 



Some further 
consider- 
ations. 



How shall we decide upon the value of different services when com- 
pared with one another? That distribution which may be called 
ideal is one that leads to the maximum satisfaction of wants, — 
that is, distribution in accordance with needs. This means equal 
distribution among equals, but unequal distribution among those 
who are unequal; and, as a matter of fact, inequahties among men, 
in capacity and requirements, are immense. 

It is desirable to satisfy the most intense wants first, and then the 
less intense, and so on down the scale. If incomes were distributed 
equally, there are men whose wants are so limited that they would 
have more than enough for the satisfaction of every need, while others 
would be deprived of the means for the satisfaction of genuine and 
pressing wants. One person has no special intellectual gifts, and can 
soon acquire all the education which will be beneficial to him. . . . 
Another has great gifts which fit him to become a painter, a musician, 
or an original scholar. It is to the interest of society that the faculties 
of such a one should be fully developed, and that for their develop- 
ment, the tools, implements, and opportunities, for the exercise of 
the talent, should be afforded. . . . Such a person can use advan- 
tageously a far larger income than the average mechanic or artisan. 

But how can we approximate this distribution under socialism? 
How can we reach agreement in regard to needs? Each one may 
appreciate his own needs sufficiently, but will he appreciate the needs 
of others, especially of those who are his natural superiors, and who 
require ten times as much as he does? Will the ordinary farmer or 
industrial toiler cheerfully agree to the proposition that some one 
else needs ten times as much as he does, in order to give equal satis- 
faction of wants? Unless such is the case, we shall have dissatisfaction 
and discontent, likely to impair the usefulness of socialism. 

And this is not all. While it may be difficult for us to come to an 
agreement in regard to the differences in the value of services rendered 
by various members of the community, a little careful observation 
shows us that the difference, after all, is vast. . . . We may take 
a single industrial establishment and we shall find that, while under 
one man it thrives, under another it languishes. The question "of 
success is dependent, above everything else, upon right leadership. 
Now those who have superior gifts and capacities are generally well 



THE CASE AGAINST SOCIALISM 219 

aware of ihcir superiority. They know that they render more valu- 
able services than others; and if we take men as they are now, or 
as they are likely to be for a long time, we have every reason to 
beheve that an assignment of merely equal income would not enlist 
in socialistic production the most capable members of the community, 
in such a manner that they would give their best energies to the 
socialistic state; but unless we could secure from the most talented 
members of the community willing service, socialism would inevitably 
prove a failure. ... It is much to be feared that men cannot be 
sociaHzed to that extent that they will generally accept the prin- 
ciple of equal reward for their services, even could it be shown that 
it were desirable. And it is impossible to show this, for quite the 
contrary is true. . . . 

All this brings us to the observation that there is great danger Conclusion, 
that, under socialism, the true requirements of those engaged in the 
higher pursuits would be under-estimated, and that the importance 
of those occupations which contribute most to the advancement of 
civiHzation would fail to secure adequate appreciation. The extent 
of natural inequalities, and the differences in the requirements of 
men, are not understood by the masses of mankind; and it is extremely 
difficult, if not impossible, to make them understand those inequalities 
and differences. This being the case, we have every reason to appre- 
hend that, under socialism, there would be inadequate provision by 
the masses for those who carry forward the most important work; 
that is to say, those whose products are immaterial, ministering to 
the higher parts of our nature. If this is so, the result of socialism 
would be a non-progressive society, and in consequence all would 
finally suffer, because, under a satisfactory social organization, 
every class will sooner or later share, to a certain extent, in the ad- 
vantages resulting from progress in science, art, letters, religion. . , . 

96. Socialism not necessary to industrial reform ^ 

The objections to socialism are of three types. In the first place. The objec- 

socialist theory is based upon a fundamental error; in the second tions to 

socialism 
place, the industrial organization contemplated by socialism is seri- are of three 

1 From Richard T. Ely, Socialism and Social Reform. T. Y. Crowell & Co., 
New York, 1895; pp. 254-257. 



220 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Capitalism 
defective, 



but de- 

creasingly 

so. 

Is there a 

golden 

mean? 



Yes. 



ously defective; in the third place, it is the belief of many authorities, 
socialism is not necessary to industrial and social reform. The 
preceding selections illustrate, to a slight degree, the false basis of 
sociahsm and the defects of its proposed industrial organization; it 
remains to be pointed out that we have good reason to hope for the 
adequate reform of our industrial system without resorting to social- 
ism. In the following selection Professor Ely takes this point of 
view: 

We have at present an imperfect social organism. It moves for- 
ward, creaking and groaning, and splashes the blood of its victims over 
us all. . . . But our social organism does move forward. If there 
is a submerged tenth, there are nine-tenths not submerged, and 
nine-tenths are more than one-tenth. Let us take care to chng to 
that which we have achieved. It will not do, in efforts to save one- 
tenth, to run serious risk of submerging nine-tenths. Perhaps never, 
since the days of Christ, taking the world as a whole, did the pro- 
vision for material wants so nearly approximate a sufficiency for all 
as at present. . . . 

The light of civilization is gradually becoming brighter, warmer, 
and its rays are slowly penetrating farther and farther into the 
darkness. 

That wise old sage, Aristotle, said that virtue consisted in avoiding 
the too much and the too little. Is there not a golden mean between 
the little (namely, rigid, obstructive and revolutionary conservatism, 
— that conservatism which refuses to recognize defects in the existing 
social order, and resists obstinately all reform of progress), — and 
the too much; (namely, reckless radicalism, which, in reaching out 
for improvement, risks the treasures accumulated during so many 
ages, treasures so painfully gathered together) ? Can we not, in our 
industrial life, keep what we have that is valuable, and escape some of 
the evils which socialism has so vividly depicted? And let us frankly, 
fully, without equivocation, acknowledge the great service? which 
socialism has, in this as in other respects, rendered society. Can 
we not carefully, conservatively add to our social order some of the 
strong features of socialism, and yet keep this social order intact? 
It seems to the author that this is practicable. . . . 

One question which meets us at the threshold of our inquiries con- 



THE CASE AGAINST SOCIALISM 221 

cerns the possibility of reform. Can we accomplish the ends which The promise 

we have in view, and will the effort which we put forward to accom- o^ social 

reform, 
plish these ends meet with a return commensurate with the exertion 

involved? It is frequently urged that all our efforts amount to so 

little that it is not worth our while to try to improve society. When 

we look into the efforts to accomplish reform in the past, we cannot 

find reason for discouragement; quite the contrary. Well-directed 

effort has accomplished great things; and we are warranted in the 

behef that a thorough reformation of society, and the reduction of 

social evils to very low terms, if not a complete aboHtion, is 

practicable. . . . 



Questions on the foregoing Readings 

1. What is the most effective method of attacking socialism? 

2. Why cannot the labor theory of value explain the value of land? 

3. What can be said as to the inability of this theory to explain the 

value of old coins, stamps, and similar commodities? 

4. Illustrate the fallacy of the theory with regard to agricultural 

produce. 

5. What, according to Professor Le Rossignol, are the factors which 

really determine value? 

6. What is Mr. Brasol's reason for saying that the formula that 

labor is the sole producer of wealth must read as follows: 
" Manual labor is the sole producer of wealth"? 

7. How does the erection of the Woolworth Building disprove the 

statement that manual labor is the producer of all wealth? 

8. What criticism does Mr. Brasol bring against the American 

socialist, Mr. Hillquit? 

9. What, according to Mr. Brasol, is a characteristic feature of 

modern production? 

10. What per cent of the gainfully employed population of the United 

States was included in the term " urban upper and middle 
class " in 1910? What per cent were in the rural group? What 
per cent were urban workers? 

11. What is meant by the "white collar" urban population? 

12. What types of individuals are included in the " rural group"? 

13. What type of workers make up the group listed by Mr. Hansen as 

" urban workers"? 

14. What proportion of our gainfully employed population belonged 

to the independent class in 19 10? 



222 READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 

15. How does agriculture illustrate the difficulties confronting socialism 

in the field of production? 

16. Under what circumstances, according to Schaeffle, would socialism 

possibly be able to increase the productivity of industry? 

17. Why did he not believe that such an increase would actually 

come about? 

18. What, in brief, is the objection to socialism as a method of dis- 

tributing wealth? 

19. What is unquestionably the simplest and easiest solution of the 

problem of distribution under socialism? 

20. What is Professor Ely's chief objection to this plan of distribution? 

21. What is his conclusion with regard to socialism as a method of 

distributing wealth? 

22. What are the three types of objections to socialism? 

23. What does Professor Ely say as to the imperfection of the social 

organism at the present time? 

24. What did Aristotle believe to be the nature of virtue? 

25. How does Professor Ely apply Aristotle's concept of virtue to 

the industrial situation? 



CHAPTER XVII 

A DEMOCRATIC PROGRAM OF INDUSTRIAL 
REFORM 

97. The program outlined ^ 

A number of constructive thinkers have maintained that it is Professor 

possible to reform our industrial system without resorting to so- Carver's 

program of 

cialism. Many of these students have offered suggestions of a con- industrial 
structive nature, but Professor Carver alone has combined the various ^'l^ ^^'^^ 

reform 

elements of industrial and social reform into a definite program which 
appears not only sound but workable, that is to say, workable if 
we choose to apply it. The following is Professor Carver's outhne 
of a democratic program of industrial and social reform: 

How to secure equality of wealth with liberty, without sacrificing any- 
thing that we now prize, such as private property, freedom of contract, 
freedom of initiative, and economic competition. (Parts of the program 
are arranged in the inverse order of their importance.) 

I. Legislative Program is divided 

A. For the redistribution of unearned wealth. 

1. Increased taxation of land values. 

2. Graduated inheritance tax. 

3. Control of monopoly prices. 

B. For the redistribution of human talent. 

1. Increasing the supply of the higher or scarcer forms of talent. 

(a) Vocational education, especially for the training of 
business men. 

{h) Cutting oflE incomes which support capable men in idle- 
ness, thus increasing the supply of active talent, 
cf., I, 2, and 3, under A. 

2. Decreasing the supply of the lower or more abundant forms 

of labor power. 

' From Thomas Nixon Carver, Essays in Social Justice. Harvard University 
Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1915; pp. 264-265. 

223 



tive 



224 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



(a) 
ib) 



(c) 
id) 



Restriction of immigration. 
Restriction of marriage. 

(i) Elimination of defectives. 

(2) Requirement of minimum standard income. 
Minimum wage law. 
Fixing building standards for dwellings. 
For the increase of material equipment. 

1. Increasing the available supply of land. 

2. Increasing the supply of capital. 

(a) Thrift versus luxury. 

(b) Savings institutions. 

(c) Safety of investments. 

(d) " Blue sky " laws. 



and a non- 
legislative 
part. 



II. Non-Legislative Program 

A. Raising the standard of living among the laboring classes. 

(a) The function of the advertiser. 

(b) The educator as the rationalizer of standards. 

(c) Thrift and the standard of living. 

(d) Industrial cooperation as a means of business and social 

education. 

B. Creating sound public opinion and moral standards among the 

capable, e.g. 

1. The ambition of the family builder. 

2. The idea 

(a) That leisure is disgraceful; 

(b) That the productive life is the religious and moral life; 

(c) That wealth is a tool rather than a means of gratification; 

(d) That the possession of wealth confers no license for luxury 

or leisure; 

(e) That government is a means not an end. 

3. Professional standards among business men. 

C. The discouraging of vicious and demoralizing developments of 

public opinion, such as: 

1. The cult of incompetence and self-pity. 

2. The gospel of covetousness, or the jealousy of success. 

3. The emphasizing of rights rather than obligations. 

4. The worship of the almighty ballot and the almighty dollar. 

5. The idea that a college education should aim to give one a 

" gentlemanly appreciation " of the ornamental things of 
life, such as literature, art, golf, and whiskey, rather than 
to strengthen one for the serious work of life. 

6. The idea that the capitalization of verbosity is constructive 

business. 



PROGRAM OF INDUSTRIAL REFORM 225 

98. Taxation as a method of attacking unearned wealth ' 

From an economic viewpoint, justice consists in giving every indi- Applying the 

vidual just what he earns, no more, no less. The first step in the P"'^^'^'*^ °^ 
' justice to 

democratic program of industrial reform is to apply the principle the problem 
of justice to large incomes. This does not mean that large incomes °^ unearned 
are necessarily objectionable, for large incomes may be as truly 
earned as small incomes. Democracy will tolerate no legal inter- 
ference with incomes which are earned, however large. On the other 
hind, there is a growing feeling that the community ought to de- 
prive individuals of wealth which is unearned. In the following 
selection Professor Sehgman calls attention to the growing tendency 
to use taxation as a means of leveling the inequahties of wealth: 

Finally, we notice the tendency in taxation away from individual A recent 
to social considerations. This is responsible for the idea of progression J^^" f."^^ '" 

t3.X3.tlOn. 

or graduation in our income taxes; it is responsible for the differen- 
tiation or distinction between earned and unearned incomes, as we 
find it abroad and shall soon find it here. It is responsible for the 
exemptions granted for general social reasons. By this we do not 
refer so much to the exemptions in the income tax as, for instance, 
to the exemption of mortgages from taxation in our property tax, 
or the exemption of money and credits. 

Again, to this cause we must refer the modern movement for a Professor 

higher tax on land, especially in local finance. I am, indeed, not a Seligman on 
7 r- ./ J > ^j^g relation 

single-taxer — far from it — for the single-tax philosophy makes of the 
two fundamental mistakes. It neglects the distinction . . . between f "f ^'^J' 

^ to taxation 

real or specific taxes and personal taxes. When the single-taxer says reform. 

that land alone should be taxed, he is thinking only of things. But . . . 

this distinction does not apply at all to the entire class of taxes on 

persons. The income of an individual may be derived not from things 

or property but from relations, from salaries, from good will, from 

copyrights, from all sorts of intangible and invisible circumstances. 

The distinction between land and other things does not affect in the 

least the obligation of the person to contribute to the support of 

government for income derived not from things. In the second place, 

1 From Edwin R. A. Seligman, "Presidential Address," delivered before the 
International Tax Associ?tion at Denver, Colo., September, 1914. 



226 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Higher 
taxes on 
land may 
be socially 
desirable. 



Uic single- taxers either revert to the long outworn idea of benefits, 
or inordinately exaggerate the element of privilege in the conception 
of faculty. They erect into a whole what is only a part. 

While, therefore, I must consider the single-tax philosophy as 
essentially incomplete, it is none the less true that a higher taxation 
of land or, rather, if you will — in order to differentiate my idea from 
that of exempting improvements in the local real estate tax, in which 
I do not believe — it is none the less true that an additional tax on 
land may be entirely legitimate from the social, rather than from 
the individual, point of view. 

And, finally, as I have often pointed out, certain indirect taxes 
which cannot be upheld at all from the point of view either of benefits 
or of faculty in taxation become perfectly explicable when we regard 
them from the social, rather than the individual, point of view, 
i.e. from the point of view of their consequences on the body economic 
rather than from that of the relation of one individual to another. . . . 



Justice 
would not 
necessarily 
eliminate 
poverty. 



Vocational 
guidance. 



99. The promise of vocational guidance ^ 

Applying the principle of justice would reform our industrial 
system to the extent that it would ehminate or greatly reduce the 
amount of unearned wealth in existence. But justice, i.e. giving 
individuals exactly what they earn, would not necessarily improve 
the condition of all of the poor, since some of these are not able 
really to earn enough to support themselves and their families prop- 
erly. From the economic standpoint, a first step toward per- 
manently helping the poor is to make it possible for them really 
to earn decent wages. Of the numerous measures which aim at the 
increase of wages without violating economic laws, none is more 
important than the movement for training unskilled and poorly 
paid individuals toward the less crowded and better paid positions. 
The following extract from a statement of principles adopted by the 
National Vocational Guidance Association in 1921 illustrates the 
scope and promise of the vocational guidance movement: 



1 From the National Vocational Guidance Association, "Principles Adopted in 
Convention," Atlantic City, February 25 and 26, 1Q21. 



PROGRAM OF INDUSTRIAL REFORM 227 

I. Foreword 

I. The term "vocational" comprises all occupations recognized Scope of 

in the census list, including agricultural, industrial, commercial, ], ^^"^ 

homemaking, and professional callings. . . . tional." 

II. The Need for Vocational Guidance 
3. Education is provided to enable pupils to understand their The need 
environment, and to extend, organize, and impr6ve their individual 1°^^^^°'^^" 
and cooperative activities, and to prepare them for making more guidance. 
wisely the important decisions which they are called upon to make 
throughout life. . . . 

III. Aims of Vocational Guidance 

6. The purposes of vocational guidance are: Its aims. 

(a) To help adapt the schools to the needs of the pupils and the 
community, and to make sure that each child obtains the equality 
of opportunity which it is the duty of the public schools to provide. 

(b) To assist individuals in choosing, preparing for, entering upon, 
and making progress in occupations. 

(c) To spread knowledge of the problems of the occupational 
world and the characteristics of the common occupations. 

(d) To help the worker to understand his relationships to workers 
in his own and other occupations and to society as a whole. 

(e) To secure better cooperation between the school on the one 
hand and the various commercial, industrial, and professional per- 
suits on the other hand. 

(/) To encourage the establishment of courses of study in all 
institutions of learning that will harmoniously combine the cultural 
and practical studies. 

7. AU vocational guidance should help to fit the individual for 
vocational self-guidance, and also for the cooperative solution of 
the problems of occupational Hfe. . . . 

V. Studying the Occupations 
15. Teachers, counselors, or investigators should be given time to 
study occupational needs and opportunities, or definitely appointed 



228 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



The study 
of occupa- 
tional 
questions. 



for that purpose, and should prepare information so obtained for 
use by teachers, pupils, and parents. 

1 6. The class for the study of educational opportunities, common 
and local occupations, and the problems of the occupational world, 
should be carried on before the end of the compulsory school age. 
Such study should be provided for all students in junior high and 
high schools. It should give the pupil an acquaintance with the en- 
tire field of occupations, and a method of studying the occupations 
wherewith he can meet future vocational problems in his Hfe. The 
study of occupations should be offered in continuation schools, 
evening schools for adults, and colleges. . . . 



Tlie choice 
of a voca- 
tion. 



Some dan- 
gers to be 
guarded 
against. 



VII Choosing the Vocation 

21. Occupations should be chosen with service to society as the 
basic consideration, and with personal satisfaction and remuneration 
as important secondary considerations. 

22. Scientific vocational guidance should discourage and supplant 
any attempt to choose occupations by means of phrenology, phys- 
iognomy, or other disproved and unproved hypotheses. 

23. Alluring short cuts to fortune, as represented by certain 
advertisements in current magazines and newspapers, should be 
condemned and supplanted by trustworthy information and frank 
discussions with children. 

24. The choice of an adult occupation should not be made too 
early or too hurriedly and should be made by the person after his 
study of occupations and his try-out experiences. It should be an 
education process by progressive ehmination. Provision should be 
made for reconsideration and rechoice. Care shotild be taken that 
the choice be made by the individual himself. . . . 



The neces- 
sity of con- 
necting the 
man and 
the job. 



100. Connecting the man and the job ^ 

From the standpoint of industrial reform, the movement toward 
vocational education and guidance is doubly beneficial. In the first 
place, it increases the number of trained workers in the community, 
and thus increases the productivity of particular classes; in the 

1 From John B. Andrews, Labor Exchanges. Senate Document No. 956. Wash- 
ington, 1915; pp. 3, 8-10. 



PROGRAM OF INDUSTRIAL REFORM 229 

second place, it may decrease the number of unskilled workers. But 
even though the workman has been trained to perform work valuable 
to the community, his training may be wasted unless he can find the 
position for which he is fitted. An essential part of the democratic 
program of industrial reform, therefore, is the connecting of man 
and job. In the following selection, Mr. John B. Andrews suggests 
a national system of labor exchanges, to aid in this connecting-up 
process: 

It is apparent to any one who knows anything about the subject Condition 
that our labor market is unorganized, and that there is a tremendous JjJ J^g^^^'^*^'' 
waste of time and energy in the irregular and haphazard employ- 
ment of workers. It is this very great social waste which we are 
just beginning to appreciate, but every method for overcoming it 
so far tried in America has been painfully inadequate. . . , 

[What is needed is a national system of employment bureaus. We need a 
This system] should comprise three main divisions: (i) The central g^g^'gjjj^'^f 
office at Washington, (2) a number of district clearing houses, employment 
and (3) the local labor exchanges. Let us briefly sketch the special "^eaus. 
functions of each. 

The central office, from its vantage point in the National Cap- Functions 

ital, and as an integral part of the Federal Department of Labor, ° a pro- 
' Of f posed cen- 

would have the task of organizing the entire system, coordinating tral office: 
its various elements, and supervising its operation. The first activ- genera ^ ^ 
ity in connection with such a national bureau is the establishment of the 
and conducting of pubHc labor exchanges. These should be built ^ ° ^ ' 
up, with careful regard to existing state and municipal bureaus, 
as rapidly and in as many parts of the country as finances will 
permit. . . . 

A second large duty of the Federal bureau would be that cooperation 
of cooperating with, encouraging, assisting, and to some extent reg- ^J^. ®^ 
ulating aU the public employment offices conducted by other sub- ofiSces, 
divisions throughout the country — state, county, town or village. 
The lack of cooperation, the failure to interchange information of 
vital importance to workmen and employers, is one of the sad fea- 
tures of the pubUc employment bureau situation at the present 
time. Here is a great field for the standardizing activities of a 
Federal bureau. ... 



230 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



inauguration 
of district 
clearing 
houses, 

and pub- 
licity 
work. 



Nature of 
the district 
clearing 
house. 



Functions 
of the local 
labor 
exchanges. 



Summary 
and con- 
clusions. 



A third duty of a Federal employment bureau would be the divi- 
sion of the country into districts and the inauguration therein of 
district clearing houses. ... 

Fourth among the duties of the central ofi&ce would be to carry 
on a campaign of the fullest possible publicity on the condition and 
fluctuations of the country's labor market. . . . The information 
of labor supply and demand thus secured could then be compiled 
and pubUshed in a number of attractive ways which opportunity 
and ingenuity will suggest. . . . 

The district clearing houses already mentioned are quite distinct 
from the local labor exchanges, and must not be confused with them. 
The clearing house finds no positions. Its functions are to exchange 
information between the local exchanges, and between other cor- 
respondents in its district, to receive daily reports from all pubUc 
exchanges within its jurisdiction, and reports from private agencies 
at least weekly, and to compile and publish these data for its dis- 
trict. It also carries on an interchange of information with the clear- 
ing houses in other districts. . . . 

The functions of the ultimate units in this system, the local labor 
exchanges, may all be summed up in the words, "bringing together 
workmen of aU kinds seeking employment and employers seeking 
workmen. " The good superintendent of a pubKc employment ofifice 
will not wait behind his counter for employers and employees to 
hunt him up and to use his office as a medium for coming together; 
he will take active steps in the process. By judicious telephoning, 
issuing circidars, newspaper advertising, newspaper publicity, and 
in other ways he will constantly bring his office to the attention 
of those who should use it. . . . 

Thus the jurisdiction of the projected Federal bureau would ex- 
tend throughout the country over every organized interstate agency 
for the securing of employment or of workers. Not only its own 
and other pubhc officers would be amenable to its regulation, but 
also private money-making enterprises and philanthropic bureaus, 
in so far as their activities transcended state borders. In addition 
to its regulative activities, it would operate exchanges on its own 
account, build up a clearing-house system for employment infor- 
mation, and publish and distribute that information as widely as 



sary. 



PROGRAM OF INDUSTRIAL REFORM 23 1 

it could. In short, in the words of Mr. Frank P. Walsh, an advocate 
of the system, it would "do everything possible to aid in securing 
the fullest application of the labor force of the country." . . . 

101. The purpose of labor legislation ^ 

One of the essential features of our industrial system is the large The restric- 
degree of Uberty which the individual enjoys in his economic re- industrial 

lations. As a general proposition, it is desirable to restrict this liberty may 

• be neccS" 

Uberty as Uttle as possible; at the same time, we are coming to 
realize that legal restrictions upon personal Hberty may be neces- 
sary if the rights of the individual and the rights of the community 
are to be safeguarded. When careless or unscrupulous employers 
tolerate harmful conditions of employment, or when ignorant or 
careless employees enter employments which react to their injury, 
it is time for the state to enact regulative legislation. In the fol- 
lowing selection Professor Carlton explains the purpose and forms 
of labor legislation: 

Society is slowly coming to the realization of the fact that equal Necessity of 
treatment of unequals often results in gross injustice. Strong, ^^^-^i^^-^ for 
weU-organized workers may not need protective laws, the professional certain 
man may not, although he usually wishes legal enactments as to 
professional requirements for entrance into the profession; but 
the child and unorganized or poorly organized men and women 
workers certainly are at a disadvantage in bargaining with well- 
organized capital. Legal protection is necessary in order to insure 
fair, or even decent, treatment. . . . 

The police power of the state furnishes the legal basis for labor Funda- 

.... 1 1 r 1 1 . -11 • mental pur- 

legislation; but the fundamental sanctions are social and economic p^^g ^f 

rather than purely legal. . . . Long working days, speeded-up workers, labor legis- 
insanitary shops, dangerous machinery, — aU tend to render workers 
and their descendants weaker and ijiore inefficient, and to lower 
the physical, mental, and moral stamina of the race. ... In the 
name of human progress, it is the duty of society through its ex- 
ecutive machine, the government, to reduce and finally to remove 
the evils now apparently inseparably connected with modern in- 

* From Frank Tracy Carlton, The History and Problems of Organized Labor. 
D. C. Heath & Co., igii; pp. 278-280. 



232 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Forms of 
labor legis- 
lation. 



A typical 
factory act. 



dustry. "The fundamental purpose of labor legislation is the con- 
servation of the human resources of the nation" is a famiUar motto 
of the American Association for Labor Legislation. . . 

Labor legislation in the states of the United States relates to a 
variety of different subjects, such as the estabhshment of depart- 
ments of factory inspection, limitation of the hours of labor, pro- 
hibition of night work or of Sunday labor, the exclusion of certain 
classes of wage earners from certain kinds of employment, provisions 
for the frequent payment of wages, prohibition of truck payment, 
guards for dangerous machinery, regulations as to the sanitary con- 
ditions within factories and workshops, regulations as to cleaning 
or oiling machinery, apprenticeship, discrimination against union 
men either in hiring or discharging workers, and many other mat- 
ters touching upon the health, safety, and well-being of wage earners. 
In addition many regulations have been passed relating specifi- 
cally to mines and mine workers. 

Every state and territory and the Federal government have 
passed legislation relating to labor. The Illinois factory law, which 
went into effect in January, 1910, is an excellent example of a fac- 
tory act. The chief points in this particular piece of labor legisla- 
tion may be summarized as foUows: — (a) All machinery must 
be carefully protected, (b) Set screws and other dangerous pro- 
jections must be countersunk or otherwise guarded, if possible. 

(c) Means must be provided for quickly stopping machinery. 

(d) Machinery must not be placed closely together; adequate 
passageways must be provided, (e) All elevators and openings 
in the floor must be enclosed. (/) Premises must be sanitary. 
Equal temperatures must be maintained; and suitable seats must 
be provided for female workers, (g) Adequate and sanitary toilet 
facilities must be provided for workers of both sexes, (h) Food 
must not be eaten in any room where white lead, arsenic, or other 
poisonous gases are present, (i) Sufficient means of escape in case 
of fire must be provided and kept free from obstruction, (j) Nox- 
ious fumes and gases must be removed as far as is practicable. 
(k) No employee shall be allowed to operate a machine with which 
he is not familiar. (/) The employer is required to report all ac- 
cidents to the state factory inspector, which result in death. . . . 



PROGRAM OF INDUSTRIAL REFORM 233 

102. The practice of thrift^ 

Some reformers begin their discussion of the problem of pov- High wages 
erty by condemning the payment of low wages to certain groups ^°^ 
of employees, and end their discussion by suggesting or demanding mean free- 
that the wages of these groups be increased. It is of course true that '^^^ ^™°^ 

poverty. 
an essential part of any sound program of industrial reform is con- 
cerned with economical methods of raising the wages of the poorly 
paid groups. But high wages do not necessarily mean freedom from 
poverty, for it may be that the individuals receiving a substantial 
increase in wages are unable to utilize their income economically. 
Indeed, poverty can never be eradicated until the individual is ren- 
dered able and willing to spend his income wasely. Some of the 
essential principles of thrift are pointed out in the following selection 
by Professor Benjamin R. Andrews: 

Thrift is a means to the best Ufe for individual and family as it Nature of 
insures that considered use of resources which will promote well- *^"^*^- 
being. There is a current idea that the thrifty man is stingy and 
penurious, but rightly understood thrift means intelligence, fore- 
thought and plan in the use of resources, so as to promote personal 
well-being. In practice thrift calls for effective functioning on the 
part of the individual in the following economic relations: 

1. As one who earns, by increasing skill or output so as to enlarge The prob- 
money income or its equivalent. 'h"f°^h. 

2. As one who spends, by studying one's present needs so as to five angles. 
secure goods and services bringing the greatest possible satisfaction 

at the least possible cost. 

3. As one who saves, by examining one's future needs so as to set 
aside funds liberally for all its contingencies. 

4. As one who invests, by considering the placing of savings so 
that they will grow by interest or by increase of value so that princi- 
pal and interest will be secure against loss. 

5. As one who conserves whatever he has, by considering its 
wisest use so as to secure the greatest possible satisfaction from it, 
by avoiding waste, and by treating what is bought with money as 

* From the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Annals. Vol. 
Lxxxvii. Philadelphia, January, 1920; pp. 11-15. 



234 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Suggestions 
for eiB- 
ciency in 
spending: 



The written 
budget. 



The intelli- 
gent direc- 
tion of 
spending. 



Thrift in 
food ex- 
penditure. 



Clothing 
costs. 



though it had money's value. Thus there arises a fivefold thrift 
problem of the individual and family as regards earning, spending, 
saving, investing, and conserving. . . . 

Written Budget Plans. . . . Engel stated certain economic laws 
of consumption, the more important of which are that the smaller 
the income the larger the proportion of it which must go for food, 
and that as income increases food expenditure relatively decreases 
and the allowance for miscellaneous culture wants increases. A 
widely quoted American standard for middle class incomes is "the 
ideal budget" of the late Ellen H. Richards which allows one-fourth 
of the income for food, one-fifth for rent, one-seventh for clothing, 
and one-fourth for culture wants or the "higher life." . . . 

Written accounts of expenditure, at least during periods of read- 
justment, are desirable. Needs for expenditure should have criti- 
cal examination. The classical division of wants into necessities, 
comforts and luxuries gives a starting point. . . . 

Intelligent direction of spending wiU increase its efficiency. This 
naturally centers in the housewife, but often certain responsibilities 
may be wisely assigned to others. ... In a matter like the purchase 
of food, clothing, shelter and other goods in the market with which 
every individual has Hfe-long contacts, it is astonishing that the 
general level of intelligence is not higher. . . . 

In food expenditure, thrift requires that the purposes of nutrition 
be adequately met, including the growth and maintenance of the 
body and the production of energy, and that this be done at a reason- 
able cost. It asks such questions as: ... Are necessary mineral 
constituents and growth-promoting vitamens provided? Is variety 
of diet guaranteed by including food from all five groups, — grain 
products, fruits and vegetables, meats, sugars and fats?. . . Do 
finicky food habits add to cost? Is food cost reasonable? Is quantity 
buying followed where practicable? Are stores selected for economy 
as well as convenience? 

In clothing costs, thrift promotes economy by such queries as these: 
Is clothing chosen so as to promote health and secure length of 
service as well as "for looks"? Does fashion increase clothing costs 
beyond reason? . . . 

In housing, thrift stands for adequate provision as to space, light. 



PROGRAM OF INDUSTRIAL REFORM 235 

air, arraiigcincnt of rooms lor case in house-work as well as to mccl 'riuifi in 
the personal and social needs of the family group. It raises such ''""^'"« 
questions as: Is there any better investment than owning one's 
own home? Are we spending unnecessarily for display in the house? 

In household operating expenses, thrift demands adequate heating, and in 
Hghting, water-supply and housekeeping supplies. It justifies hired operating 
service where the housewife has other useful employment or is unable expenses. 
to do all the work. It raises such questions as: Can supplies be 
bought cheaper in quantity? Is the heating and lighting system 
efficient and economical? Is the telephone justified, and if so, is 
postage a cheaper substitute for many toll calls? Do the members 
of the household cooperate fuUy in reducing the burden of daily 
household tasks which come upon the housewife or her hired 
substitute? 

In culture wants, thrift emphasizes their importance as compared Thrift in 

with material wants and asks full provision for education, for per- '^"^ture 

wants. 
sonal development and for health, and reasonable provision for phys- 
ical and mental recreation, for necessary expenses for personal 
care and for incidental needs. But thrift asks: Are large personal 
indulgence expenditures justifiable? Do they not give special treat- 
ment for one or more members of the family as compared with others? 
Is special musical or art instruction to an ungifted person wise? 
Should recreation expenditures exceed cultural expenditures of the 
sort which, for lack of a better term, are called educational and 
ethical? . . . 



Questions on the foregoing Readings 

1. Into what two parts does Professor Carver divide his outline of 

the democratic program of industrial reform? 

2. Outline the essential features of the first part of this program. 

3. What are the essential features of the second part of this program? 

4. Define justice. 

5. By what three means might unearned wealth be redistributed? 

6. To what tendency in taxation does Professor Seligman call at- 

tention? 

7. What is the relation of this tendency to income tax legislation? 

8. What does Professor Seligman have to say with reference to a 

higher tax on land, especially in local finance? 



236 READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 

9. What is his opinion of the single tax? 

10. Why might the application of the principle of justice to industrial 

problems fail to improve the condition of all of the poor? 

11. What is the importance of vocational guidance in the attack upon 

low wages? 

12. What occupations are covered by the term " vocational"? 

13. What are the aims of vocational guidance? 

14. What principles should govern the choice of a vocation? 

15. What, according to Mr. John B. Andrews, is the condition of the 

labor market at the present time? 

16. What remedy does he suggest for this condition? 

17. Outline the functions of the central office, as embodied in the 

plan for a national system of employment bureaus. 

18. What would be the functions of the proposed local labor exchanges? 

19. Why is labor legislation a necessary function of government? 

20. What is the legal basis for labor legislation? 

21. Outline some forms of labor legislation. 

22. Explain why high wages do not necessarily mean freedom from 

poverty. 

23. What are the five phases of the problem of thrift? 

24. Outline Professor Andrews' suggestions with reference to written 

budget plans and written accounts of expenditure. 

25. Illustrate the principles of thrift with reference to food expenditure, 

clothing costs, expenditure for house-room, household operating 
expenses, and culture wants. 



PART III— AMERICAN SOCIAL PROBLEMS 

CHAPTER XVIII 
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS 

103. The extent of strikes and lockouts ^ 

In any survey of the actual workings of modem industry, the The persist- 
most casual observer must be impressed by the persistence of dis- j'^'^^ ? . '"." 

^ ^ r- dustnal dis- 
agreements between labor and capital. These disagreements take agreements. 

different forms, and are of varying duration and significance. Two 
of the most serious types of industrial disturbances are strikes and 
lockouts. Complete data on these industrial phenomena are lacking, 
but for a number of years the United States Department of Labor 
has kept a record of strikes and lockouts in this country. The fol- 
lowing extract from a report of the Department indicates the extent 
of strikes and lockouts in the years 1916, 1917, 1918, and 1919: 



Table I. Number of Strikes and Lockouts, 1916, 191 7, 
T918, AND 1919 



Strikes and 

lockouts, 

igib-igig. 



Year 


Total 


Year 


Total 


Strikes: 

1916 

IQ17 


3,681 
4,324 
3,232 
3,253 


Lockouts: 

1916 

lOI 7 . 


108 
I ''6 


1918 


I918. . . . 


105 
121 


IQIO 


lOIO 









Although the number of strikes during 1919 was not appreciably 
larger than in 191 8 and was less than in 1916 or 1917, the number 

* From the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 
Monthly Labor Review. Washington, June, iq2o; pp. 200-204. 

237 



238 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Number of 
persons 
involved in 
labor dis- 
putes in 
the years 
1916, 1917, 
1918, 



and 1919. 



Extent of 
unionism 
among the 
employees 
involved 
in 1919. 



Causes of 
strikes and 
lockouts, 
1916-1919. 



of persons on strike during the year 19 19 was greatly in excess of 
the number on strike in any of the three preceding years, due to 
the number of strikes in which large numbers of persons were involved. 
The strike in which the largest number of persons was involved in 
1916 was the men's clothing strike in New York City in December 
of that year, involving 60,000 employees. No strike in 191 7 involved 
as many as 40,000 persons. In 1918 the strike involving the largest 
number of persons was that of machinists in northern New Jersey 
in July, where 60,000 persons struck. 

In 1 91 9 there were nine disturbances, in each of which 60,000 
or more persons were directly concerned: A general strike in Tacoma 
and Seattle in February in sympathy with the metal-trades strikers, 
in which 60,000 persons were involved; 65,000 employees in the 
Chicago stockyards struck in August; 100,000 longshoremen along 
the Atlantic coast struck in October; 100,000 employees in the ship- 
yards of New York City and vicinity struck in October; 115,000 
members of the building trades were locked out in Chicago in July; 
125,000 in the building trades in New York struck in February; 
250,000 railroad shop workers struck in August; 367,000 iron and 
steel workers struck in September; and 435,000 bituminous coal 
miners struck in November. The number of persons concerned in 
these nine strikes and lockouts was upward of 1,600,000, while 
the total number of persons in strikes and lockouts during 1919 was 
4,112,507. . . . 

In 1 91 9 the employees were connected with unions in 1,811 strikes 
and 102 lockouts; they were not connected with unions in 135 strikes 
and I lockout; in 27 strikes and 2 lockouts they were not so con- 
nected at the time of striking, but organized almost immediately 
thereafter; in 1,280 strikes and 16 lockouts the relation of employees 
to unions was not reported. ... 

The causes of strikes and lockouts were numerous. Aside from 
wages, few strikes occurred in which the cause was confined to one 
matter in dispute. The principal causes are shown in the table 
following: 



INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS 



239 



Principal Causes of Strikes and Lockouts Beginning in 
1916, 1917, 1918, and 1919 



Matter of Dispute 



Increase of wages 

Decrease of wages 

Nonpayment of Images 

Increase of hours 

Decrease of hours 

Increase of wages and decrease of hours 

Recognition of the union 

Recognition and wages 

Recognition and hours 

Recognition, wages, and hours 

General conditions 

Conditions and wages 

Conditions and hours 

Conditions, wages, and hours 

Conditions and recognition 

Discharge of foreman demanded 

Discharge of employees 

Employment of nonunion men 

In regard to the agreement 

New agreement 

Sympathy 

Jurisdiction 

Miscellaneous 

Not reported 

Total 



Strikes 



1916 



1,290 

S^ 

13 

3 

1 1 1 

479 

344 

122 

22 

68 

59 

S6 

3 

25 



17 

122 

70 

38 

37 

32 

19 

120 

598 



1917 



1,554 

34 

17 

18 

127 

374 

275 

149 

27 

S6 

100 

70 

17 

26 

13 

37 

204 

76 



70 



774 



1918 



1,378 

34 

31 

6 

79 

251 

188 

95 

18 

66 

59 

52 

2 

8 

7 

54 

138 

62 

42 

4 

34 

16 

172 

436 



3,232 



1919 



999 
80 



106 

554 

366 

127 

19 

178 

65 

54 

5 

37 

14 

15 

141 



33 
36 

100 
15 
91 

201 



Lockouts 



1916 



7 
33 
108 



1917 



5 
30 
126 



1918 



1919 



9 

31 
5 



los 121 



240 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Mediation, 
conciliation 
and arbitra- 
tion. 



The milk 
wagon driv- 
ers' strike, 
New York, 
November i, 
1921. 



Territory 
and popula- 
tion affected. 



It is 
claimed 
that the 
strikers had 
rejected the 
offer of con- 
ciliation. 



104. Failure of voluntary arbitration: an example ^ 

Disputes between labor and capital may be settled in a num- 
ber of ways. Very frequently, the dispute terminates in a strike 
or lockout, in which case the two parties attempt to settle their 
difficulties in the open conflict of industrial warfare. The dangers 
and injuries which often accompany industrial warfare have led many 
states to enact laws providing for a varying degree of industrial 
mediation, conciliation and arbitration. In practically all of the 
legislating states, however, arbitration is purely voluntary, and often 
fails because either labor or capital, or both, will not consent to 
arbitration. An excellent example of the failure of voluntary arbi- 
tration is the strike of the milk wagon drivers in New York in 
November, 192 1. The following extracts concerning this strike are 
from the New York Times: 

(November i, 192 1.) Sweeping aside all efforts at Federal and 
municipal intervention, more than 12,000 milk wagon drivers and 
allied workers voted overwhelmingly at a wild and uproarious mass 
meeting in Madison Square Garden last night to strike. The walk- 
out went into effect at midnight. 

The New York Milk Conference Board, representing the distrib- 
utors, immediately answered that they accepted the challenge of 
the unions and would run an "open shop." . . . 

The strike order which was issued to the men includes all milk dis- 
tributors of New York City, Jersey City, Hoboken, Newark, . . . 
and as far north as the Massachusetts State line, covering a territory 
which has within its Kmits a population of more than 10,000,000 
persons. ... 

I. Elkin Nathans, Secretary of the Milk Conference Board, said 
that the [grievances between the Board and the employees had been 
under consideration] by Charles Bendheim, Concihation Commissioner 
of the U.S. Department of Labor, but the "union delegates wouldn't 
listen to him. I think [the unions] should have at least left the way 
open to renew the negotiations, " [said Mr. Nathans.] . . . 

(November 2, 1921.) Through the efforts of Mayor John F. Hylan, 
the milk distributors and representatives of the milk drivers' unions 
1 From the New York Times, issues of November i, 2, 3 and 4, 192 1. 



INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS 241 

will meet in conference to-day in an effort to adjust their The mayor 
,.„ of New 

differences. . . . York 

The conference between the union leaders and the distributors attempts to 
yesterday afternoon was called by the Mayor in a telegram in which ^^" ^ ^.^ 
he said: "From the point of view of the public, the situation that cause of the 
arises because of this dispute between you is intolerable. What- ^°"t "^" 
ever the merits may be, and whichever is in the right, the contro- milk, 
versy should be adjusted without discomfort or inconvenience to 
the public and without jeopardy to the health and lives of the babies, 
children and invalids in the community." . . . 

(November 3, 192 1.) In a letter to Dr. Royal S. Copeland, The em- 
Health Commissioner, the milk distributors said that they could ?°?'*1? ^^' 
not accept arbitration, believing that the situation called for per- offer of 
manent settlement and must be fought out. ... ^^ itration, 

Aroused by the failure of the distributors to make a settlement and are de- 
possible, Commissioner Copeland came out of the office in a rush. J'^"^^ 1./ 
"The responsibiUty now rests on the distributors," he said. "They Commis- 
want to make an open shop fight on an issue that means Ufe and 
death to the inhabitants of this community." . . . 

After a conference with his committeemen, [the spokesman of The strikers 
the unions] announced: "Our committee is agreeable to recommend "^Y?^ . 
at the Madison Square Garden meeting to-night that the men return 
to work under the old agreement while a board of arbitration takes 
up the question of wages." 

Asked what he had to say to that by Dr. Copeland, Mr. Nathans but the rep- 
demanded the union's promise in writing. The Health Commissioner '■^sentative 
said that that could be arranged, that the unions had made a "fair ployers 
proposition" and a "splendid suggestion," and called upon the 
two Conciliation Commissioners, Charles Bendheim and Owen Brown, 
who were present, and they agreed that arbitration was the best plan. 

Mr. Nathans said that he would suggest it to the distributors, delays ac- 
but they did not want to "wrangle for six or eight months," asking g^" "^jop"' 
that a definite period be stated for the duration of the arbitration 
proceedings. . . . Commissioner Copeland, warning that arguments 
might spoil the "pleasant afternoon," suddenly adjourned the meet- 
ing and had the unions prepare in writing their proposal to return 
to work. . . . 



242 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



The result, 
as shown 
by the 
headUnes of 
the New 
York Times, 
November 4, 
ig2i. 



(November 4, 1921.) 
STRIKERS RIOTING ALL OVER THE CITY 

DUMP THOUSANDS OF GALLONS OF MILK 
HYLAN THREATENS TO SEIZE PLANTS 



BRICKS RAIN ON TRUCKS. 



Drivers and dealers are beaten. Policemen attacked, wagons stolen. 



One dying, two' badly hurt. 



People with pails are turned back from station. 
Small storekeepers cowed. 



40 arrests, four to jail. 



Courts score disregard for Public, 
Threaten severe sentences in day of violence. 



The neces- 
sity of legal 
responsibil- 
ity in 
industrial 
relations. 



A proposed 
law on this 
subject. 



105. Legal responsibility in industrial relations^ 

In industrial relations, as in other phases of life, experience has 
shown that the combination of great power and lack of responsibility 
is likely to lead to an abuse of power. Among both employees and 
employers organization is increasingly close and strong, and though 
this is in many ways desirable, this development increases the neces- 
sity of protecting the community against the aggressions of either 
labor or capital. Authorities differ as to the desirability or even 
possibility of so applying ordinary corporation law as to render trade 
unions and employers' associations legally responsible for their acts. 
It is beheved by some, however, that it is possible to establish legal 
responsibility by a special form of incorporation. In the following 
passage Mr. Forrest R. Black outlines a proposed law which would 
establish such responsibility: 

I. Such a law ought to recognize the peculiar nature of the trade 

union as distinct from the social club, on the one hand, and from an 

ordinary business corporation on the other. . . . 

1 From Forrest R. Black, Should Trade Unions and Employers' Associations 
Be Made Legally Responsible? National Industrial Conference Board, Boston, 
June, 1920; op. 33-35. 



INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS 243 

II. The law should expressly recognize the "identity of interest" Necessity 
between the trade union as such and its members. This would give °! .'^^^°fr 

nizing the 

efficiency to their contracts with employers. It should be so framed "identity of 
that a breach of a joint contract of employment would give the union Interest 
a right of action for the damages sustained by its members through trade union 
resulting loss of wages or unemployment. This would virtually in- ^"^ |^^ 
troduce arbitration by the courts in labor disputes, by creating 
greater mutual confidence in the stability of each other; and thus, 
to a certain extent, superseding the strike, which is at present practi- 
cally the only remedy against a violation of the labor contract by 
the employer. . . . 

III. The statute should specifically recognize the distinction Combative 
between the combative and the charitable functions of a trade union, ^^^^^^^^^j^jg 
and the funds connected with the latter should be declared immune functions of 
from attachment in a damage suit. Protected by such a limitation, ^ ^ "'^'°'^- 
if the unions are acting in good faith, we see no reason why they 

should not be wiUing to furnish as good security as they now demand 
of the employer. 

IV. A Federal labor commission should be created to supervise A Federal 

labor organizations and employers' associations, and among other ^ °^ . . 

° . . commission 

things, to see to it that the unions do not use the benefit function proposed, 
as a cloak to protect the funds to be used for combative purposes. . . . 

VI. The statute must distinguish between the merchant function 
and the employer function of those organizations that are loosely 
called "employers' associations." 

VII. Incorporation should be voluntary. The experience of New Incorpora- 
Zealand and AustraUa shows that such a system, although voluntary, tion should 
would soon be adopted by the great majority of trade unions and tary. 
employers' associations. The objections to incorporation, as such, 

on the part of trade unions, would be overcome by the attending 
privileges offered, and due to the fact that employers are even now 
financially responsible, employers' associations would accept it \^i.e. 
incorporation] because of the greater leverage it would give them 
over organized labor, and because of the stimulus that it would 
give to the principle of arbitration. 

VIII. The foregoing system should be put into effect by national 
and state legislation. Lack of uniformity in state statutes would 



244 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Equal treat- 
ment of 
trade unions 
and em- 
ployers' 
associations. 

Conclusion. 



no doubt be a serious handicap to the success of the plan, but this 
is one of the defects which is inherent in our system of government. 
At least, the proposed plan, where adopted, would be preferable 
to the present system. 

IX. Finally trade unions must be subject to the same rules 
of legal ability as employers' associations, in the strict use of that 
term. . . . The public welfare demands that both trade unions and 
employers' associations stand upon a plane of equality before the 
law, — and this the state can establish. 

It seems that the solution Ues in an extension of the Roosevelt 
Trust Pohcy of "concentration and control." We must distinguish 
between good and bad unions, between good and bad employers' as- 
sociations. The motive of those who urge that trade unions and em- 
ployers' associations be held strictly responsible for their contracts 
and the acts of their agents, is not to attack the institutions them- 
selves, — -but their abuses; the purpose is not to cripple the con- 
tending factions, but to protect the great consuming pubUc of which 
they are only a part. 



Backward- 
ness of 
compulsory 
arbitration 
in the 
United 
States. 



106. The Kansas Court of Industrial Relations ^ 

The limitations of conciliation, mediation and voluntary arbitra- 
tion as methods of settling industrial disputes have given rise to the 
demand for compulsory arbitration. Those favoring compulsory 
arbitration are particularly insistent that this device be applied to 
industrial disputes which threaten to deprive the pubUc of such 
vital necessities as coal, milk, etc. Compulsory arbitration is well 
known in Australasia, but has not been regarded with wide favor 
in the United States. Nevertheless, an important step toward safe- 
guarding the right of the public was taken when in January, 1920, 
the Legislature of Kansas established a Court of Industrial Relations. 
The chief aim of the court is not to arbitrate between labor and capi- 
tal, as such, but to represent the public interest in industry. The 
following description of the court is from the Monthly Labor Review: 

The action of the Legislature of Kansas of this year C1920] in 

1 From the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 
Monthly Labor Review. Washington, March, 1920; pp. 214-215. 



INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS 245 

establishing a special tribunal of industrial relations has attracted The Kansas 
widespread attention. The court consists of three judges appointed j "J"^*^, " , 
by the governor, with the advice and consent of the senate, for three- Relations, 
year terms, and was immediately (Feb. 2) organized. ... Its ^^^°' 
principal powers, from the standpoint of immediate interest, relate Chief 
to the regulation of designated classes of employments, industries, Powers. 
etc., "declared to be affected with a public interest and therefore 
subject to supervision by the state. " Included are the manufact- 
uring of food products and clothing, and processes connected there- 
with; the mining or production of fuel; transportation, and all 
public utilities and common carriers as defined by existing statutes 
of the state. 

The court has power to make investigations, serve process, take Further 
testimony, and adopt rules and regulations to govern its own pro- Po^^^''^- 
ceedings. Appeal lies to the supreme court from its findings. The 
public welfare is declared to require continuity and efficiency in the 
operation of the industries, etc., named; the willful hindering, delay, 
Hmiting or suspension of such operations are therefore declared to 
be contrary to the purpose of the act. 

The court may act on its own initiative, or upon the complaint How the 

of either party to a controversy, or of ten citizen taxpayers of the ?°^'^^ ^? ^^^ 

m motion, 
affected community, or of the attorney-general of the state. In- 
vestigation may extend to the conditions surrounding the workers, 
their wages, returns to capital, the rights and welfare of the public, — 
"and all other matters affecting the conduct of said industries, 
employments, public utilities, or common carriers. " 

The court is authorized to order any changes necessary in the Authority 
matter of working and living conditions, hours of labor, rules and "^ respect 

. . ^° working 

practices, and a reasonable minimum wage or standard of wages, and living 
Appeal may be taken within 10 days to the supreme court. If after conditions. 
60 days' compliance the order is found to be unjust, unreasonable, 
or impracticable, the aggrieved party may apply for a modification, 
and a hearing shall thereupon be had, and the court of industry may 
modify its orders for cause shown. 

Enforcement is by process issuing from the supreme court on Enforcement 
proceedings by the industrial court. Persons wilfully violating the o' '^"e 
provisions of the act, or any valid order of the court, are liable to court. 



246 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Violence 
and other 
forms of 
lawlessness. 



Recognition 
of collective 
bargaining. 



Conclusion. 



fine not exceeding $100 or imprisonment not exceeding one year, 
or both. Officers of corporations or of labor unions who use their 
official positions wilfuUy to influence or compel violations are guilty 
of a felony and may be punished, upon conviction thereof, by a fine 
not exceeding $5,000, or imprisonment at hard labor for not ex- 
ceeding two years, or both. In case production or operation is sus- 
pended, the court may take proceedings for the taking over and 
operation of the industries or work affected. In any case a fair 
wage is to be paid the workers and a fair return allowed the owners. 

It is an offense to do or perform any forbidden act, or fail or refuse 
to perform any act enjoined or directed by the court, acting either 
singly ox in confederation with others; or to induce or intimidate 
any employer or worker to violate the orders of the court whether 
negatively or positively. Picketing, threats, abuse, or other forms 
of intimidation are unlawful in connection with the employments, 
industries, etc., governed by the act. 

Unions of workers are recognized, as is the right of collective 
bargaining. Individual workers are guaranteed freedom of action 
in making or terminating contracts, but it is unlawful for individuals 
to conspire with other persons to quit employment for the purpose 
of hindering, delaying, or interfering with the operation of industries 
covered by the act. Employees testifying as witnesses or otherwise 
active in securing the attention or action of the court may not be 
discharged or discriminated against because of such action. 

This is the most comprehensive attempt yet made to protect 
the public in cases of industrial disputes likely to affect its 
interests. . . . 



Increasing 
number of 
plans for 
industrial 
peace. 



107. Proposed principles of industrial relations ^ 

The growing desire to decrease the antagonisms between labor 
and capital has led to numerous programs of industrial procedure. 
Some of these programs or proposals have frankly favored the 
interests of the laborers, while others have tended to favor the 
employers. Often the interests of the public at large have been in- 
adequately represented in these so-called plans for industrial peace. 

1 From the Chamber of Commerce of the United States, "A Labor Program by 
Business." Printed in The Nation's Business, April, 1919; P- i3- 



INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS 247 

Occasionally, a program is put forward which sincerely attempts 
to do justice, not only to the interests of labor and of capital, but 
of the public as well. An example of this last-named type of program 
is the "Labor Program by Business," drawn up by the Chamber 
of Commerce of the United States in 191 9. The program follows: 

Bhnd leaders of the blind persist in deceiving both parties to the The Cham- 
readjustment in industrial relations. Commerce 

The all-important question is whether the dominant voice in of the 
labor and in the interest of the employer shall tend to emphasize g^^^gg fQj.- 
the existing differences in militant terms that will ultimately pro- mulates 
voke the belief that alleged rights must be battled for; or whether principles of 
the wiser group, knowing that the industrial program of the nation industrial 
is not in reahty a militant program but one of cooperation, shall 
gain the ascendency and throttle the '"red" tendencies of which the 
situation is possessed. 

It was in response to the demand for announcing a program of 
cooperation that the Chamber of Commerce of the United States 
undertook the study of primary principles of such a program and 
started with this progress step by step until the basis of at least a 
really wise and workable plan could be evolved. 

For several years the National Chamber has had committees 
studying questions on industrial relations. The latest committee 
was appointed last December and having advantage of the study 
over discoveries of earUer committees, it has formulated a state- 
ment of several principles to be followed in the United States. . . . 

The principles formulated by this committee are to be placed 
before the 1 100 commercial and trade organizations in the Chamber's 
membership for their consideration. The principles which will thus 
be submitted are: 

I. Industrial enterprise, as a source of livelihood for both employer which it be- 
and employee, should be so conducted that due consideration is ^J^j^ ^^^^ 
given to the situation of all persons dependent upon it. guard the 

II. The public interest requires adjustment of industrial rela- f^^^J^^^ 
tions by peaceftil methods. 

III. Regularity and continuity of employment should be sought 
to the fullest extent possible and constitute a responsibiUty rest- 
ing alike upon employers, wage earners and the public. 



248 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



further the 
interests of 
both labor 
and capital, 



and increase 
the efiS- 
ciency of 
the produc- 
tive mech- 



IV. The right of workers to organize is as clearly recognized as 
that of any other class or part of the community. 

V. Industrial harmony and prosperity will be most effectually 
promoted by adequate representation of the parties in interest. 
Existing forms of representation should be carefully studied and 
availed of in so far as they may be found to have merit and are 
adaptable to the pecuhar conditions in the various industries. 

VI. Whenever agreements are made with respect to industrial 
relations they should be faithfully observed. 

VII. Such agreements should contain provision for prompt and 
final interpretation in the event of controversy regarding meaning 
or apphcation. 

VIII. Wages should be adjusted with due regard to the pur- 
chasing power of the wage, and to the right of every man to an 
opportunity to earn a hving at fair wages, to reasonable hours of 
work and working conditions, to a decent home, and to the enjoy- 
ment of proper social conditions. 

IX. Fixing of a basic day as a device for increasing compensation 
is a subterfuge that should be condemned.^ 

X. Efficient production in conjunction with adequate wages is 
essential to successful industry. Arbitrary restriction on output 
below reasonable standards is harmful to the interests of wage 
earners, employers, and the public and should not be permitted. In- 
dustry, efficiency and initiative, wherever found, should be encour- 
aged and adequately rewarded, while indolence and indifference 
should be condenmed. 

XL Consideration of reduction in wages shovdd not be reached 
until possibihty of reduction of costs in aU other directions has been 
exhausted. 

XII. Administration of employment and management of labor 
shotild be recognized as a distinct and important function of manage- 
ment and accorded its proper responsibihty in administration organ- 
ization. 

XIII. A system of national employment offices, with due provi- 
sion for cooperation with existing state and municipal systems, 
can be made, under efficient management and if conducted with 
due regard to the equal interests of employers and employees in its 



INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS 249 

proper administralion, a most helpful agency, but only if all appoint- 
ments are made strictly subject to the Civil Service Law and rules. 
Policies governing the conduct of a national system of employment 
offices should be determined in conjunction with advisory boards, — 
national, state and local, — equally representative of employers and 
employees. 



108. The promise of employee representation ^ 

The plans proposed for the settlement of industrial disputes are There is 

numerous, and though many of them have desirable points and work Pi'obably no 

, , simple rem- 

well in particular situations, no one is generally satisfactory. It edy for 



industrial 
warfare. 



is possible that we shall never be able to rely wholly upon any one 

method or principle, nevertheless there is a growing number of 

students who believe that a proper apphcation of what is called 

"employee representation" promises greatly to increase industrial 

good-wiU. The nature and scope of this device are described in the 

following extract from the Report of the Industrial Conference 

called by the President of the United States in December, 1919: 

Employee representation has been discussed under different names Forms of 

and forms, such as shop committees, shop councils, works councils, ^'"P^oy*^*^ 

' representa- 
representative government in industry and others. But represen- tion. 

tation is a definite principle rather than a form. The Conference, 

therefore, prefers the generic term "employee representation. "... 

Employee representation organizes the relations of employer and Its nature 
employee so that they regularly come together to deal with common '^^^ extent, 
interests. It is operating successfully under union agreements in 
organized shops. It is operating in non-union shops, and it is operat- 
ing in shops where union and non-union men work side by side. 
In plants working under union agreement, it adds to collective bar- 
gaining an agency of cooperation within the plant. It is itself an 
agency of collective bargaining and cooperation where union agree- 
ments do not obtain. 

It is idle to deny the existence of conflicting interests between 
employers and employees. But there are wide areas of activity 

1 From the Industrial Conference called by the President, Report. March 6, 
ig2o; pp. 9-11. 



2SO 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Importance 
of the rep- 
resentative 
principle in 
industry. 



Opposition 
to employee 
representa- 
tion 



is based 
upon a mis- 
conception. 



Employee 
representa- 
tion not in- 
compatible 
with trade 



in which their interests coincide. -It is the part of statesmanship to 
organize identity of interest where it exists in order to reduce the 
area of conflict. The representative principle is needed to make 
effective the employee's interest in production, as well as in wages 
and working conditions. It is likewise needed to make more effective 
the employer's interest in the human element in industry. 

The idea of employee representation has aroused opposition from 
two sources. On the one hand, in plants too large for direct personal 
contact, employers who still adhere to the theory that labor is a 
commodity, hold off from any form of cooperation with employees. 
This view is steadily disappearing and will, it is hoped, whoUy dis- 
appear. On the other hand, a number of trade union leaders regard 
shop representation as a subtle weapon directed against the union. 
This thought is apparently based on the fear that it may be used 
by some employers to undermine the unions. Conceived in that 
spirit no plan can be a lasting agency of industrial peace. 

But occasional misuse of employee representation and the conse- 
quent hesitancy of organized labor to endorse it officially, are based 
on a misconception of the possible and desirable relations between 
the union and the shop committee. This relation is complementary, 
and not a mutually exclusive one. In many plants the trade union 
and the shop committee are both functioning harmoniously. . . , 

The union has had its greatest success in deahng with basic work- 
ing conditions, and with the general level of wages in organized 
and partially organized industries and crafts. It has also indirectly 
exerted an influence on standards in unorganized trades. There 
is no reason to suppose that in the future this influence will not 
continue. 

Local problems, however, fall naturally within the province of 
shop committees. No organization covering the whole trade and 
unfamiliar with special local conditions and the questions that come 
up from day to day, is by itself in a position to deal with these ques- 
tions adequately, or to enlist the cooperation of employer and em- 
ployee in methods to improve production and to reduce strain. . . . 

The existence of employee representation in plants operating 
under union agreement does not necessarily reduce the scope of 
the union representative's work. But matters are more likely to 



INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS 251 

come to him as questions of the appUcation of an agreement 
rather than as mere grievances. In other words he has greater 
opportunity for service in negotiation of an essentiaUy conciliatory 
nature. . . . 

Employee representation offers no royal road to industrial peace. Limits of 
No employer should suppose that merely by installing some system employee 
of shop representation he can be assured, without continued effort, tSi'.^'™^''" 
of harmony and increased production. . . . The development and 
maintenance of right relations between employer and employee 
require more than mere organization. Intelligent and wise admin- 
istration is needed of aU those problems of production that directly 
touch the employee. ... The elimination of human friction is, 
even from the point of view of increased production, at least no 
less important than the eUmination of waste in materials, or in 
mechanical power. . . . 



Questions on the foregoing Readings 

1. What are two of the most serious types of industrial disturbances? 

2. Compare the number of strikes in the United States during the 

years 1916, 1917, 1918 and 19 19. 

3. Compare the number of lockouts during the same years. 

4. What was the total number of persons involved in strikes and 

lockouts during the year 1919? 

5. Name some of the more important causes of strikes and lockouts. 

6. Why is voluntary arbitration often a failure? 

7. Illustrate the limits of voluntary arbitration with reference to 

the strike of the milk wagon drivers in New York in 192 1. 

8. Why does the question arise of making trade unions and employers' 

associations legally responsible for their acts? 

9. OutUne the law which Mr. Black proposes as a means of establish- 

ing such responsibility. 
ID. How does Mr. Black apply the " Roosevelt Trust Policy " to the 
question of industrial relations? 

11. What has been responsible for the increasing demand that in- 

dustrial disputes be settled by compulsory arbitration? 

12. When was the Kansas Court of Industrial Relations established? 

13. Outlme the powers of this court. 

14. How does this court enforce its decisions? 

IS- Give the main provisions in the labor program proposed in 1919 
by the Chamber of Commerce of the United States. 



252 READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 

i6. What is meant by employee representation? 

17. In what two quarters has the idea of employee representation 

aroused opposition? 

18. Does this opposition prove that the principle of employee repre- 

sentation is a mistaken one? Why? 

19. Explain how employee representation supplements, rather than 

absorbs, the functions of the trade union. 

20. What is meant by saying that " employee representation offers 

no royal road to industrial peace "? 



CHAPTER XIX 

HEALTH IN INDUSTRY 

109. The conservation of human life ^ 

One of the most significant developments in contemporary Growing 
American life is the movement toward conservation. Since the "^po^ance 

of conser- 

days of President Roosevelt the question of the conservation of vation. 
natural resources has been attracting wide attention, and yet this 
is only one phase of conservation. The greater and more inclusive 
problem is that of national efficiency. The waste of human life 
and energy in the United States is a menace to our national effi- 
ciency, and the eUmination of reduction of this waste constitutes 
a grave social problem. Some phases of this problem are discussed 
in the following extract from the Report on National Vitality, Its 
Wastes and Conservation, prepared for the National Conservation 
Commission in 1908, by Professor Irving Fisher: 

Part II — Breadth of Life versus Invalidity 
Chapter III — Prevalence of Serious Illness 
I. Loss of time. — Life is shortened by death and narrowed by Loss of 
invahdity. The ideal Ufe, with respect to health, would be free *™*^ 
from illness and disabiUty of every kind. To approximate such an death and 
ideal is the aim of hygiene. It is usually true that the healthier a sickness. 
life the longer it will last. Humboldt maintained that he had Hved 
four working lives by retaining a working power double the average 
for double the average number of years. According to Farr, for 
every death there is an average severe sickness of two years, or for 
each death per year there are two persons sick throughout the year. 
This would mean in the United States that, as there are about 1,500,- 

* From the Committee of One Hundred on National Health, Report on National 
Vitality, Its Wastes and Conservation, prepared by Irving Fisher. Washington, 
igog. Summary of Parts 11 and iv. 

253 



254 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Accidents. 



Evils of a 
too long 
working day. 



ooo annual deaths, there will always be about 3,000,000 persons 
on the sick Ust, which is equivalent to about thirteen days 
per capita. . . . 

American railways in 1907-1908 killed nearly 11,800 and injured 
nearly 111,000 persons. The deaths and disablements from ac- 
cidents in industry, although less carefully recorded, also represent 
a great and needless impairment of ej0&ciency. . . . 

Chapter V — Prevalence of undue fatigue 
... 6. The working day. — The present working day, from a phys- 
iological standpoint, is too long, and keeps the majority of men and 
women in a continual state of over-fatigue. It starts a vicious circle, 
leading to the craving of means for deadening fatigue, thus inducing 
drunkenness and other excesses. Experiments in reducing the work- 
ing day show a great mprovement in the physical efficiency of labor- 
ers, and in many cases result in even increasing their output suf- 
ficiently to compensate the employer for the shorter day. Several 
examples of such a result exist, but the real justification for a shorter 
work day is found in the interest of the race, not the employer. 
One company, which keeps its factory going night and day, found, 
on changing from two shifts of twelve hours each to three shifts 
of eight hours each, that the efficiency of the men gradually in- 
creased, and the days lost per man by illness fell from seven and 
one-half to five and one-half per year. Pubhc safety requires, in 
order to avoid railway collisions and other accidents, the prevention 
of long hours, lack of sleep, and undue fatigue in workmen. . . . 



Preventable 
human 
wastes 
measured 
in money. 



Part IV — Results of Conserving Life 
Chapter XII — The Money Value of Increased Vitality 
I. Money appraisal of preventable wastes. — Doctor Farr has 
estimated the net economic value of an English agricultural 
laborer at various times of life by discounting his chance of future 
earnings after subtracting the cost of maintenance. On the basis 
of this table we may construct a rough estimate of the worth of an 
average American fife at various ages, assuming that only three- 
fourths of those of working age are actually earners of money or 
housekeepers. 



HEALTH IN INDUSTRY 255 

It gradually rises from a value of $90 in the first year to $4,200 Example of 
at the age of 30, and then declines until it becomes negative for the g^^^^g"' ^ 
higher ages. . . . Applying this table to [our] existing population 
at various ages, ... we find that the average value of a person now 
Hving in the United States is $2,900, and the average value of the 
lives now sacrificed by preventable deaths is $1,700. . . . Applying 
the $2,900 to the population of eighty-five and a half millions, we 
find that our population may be valued as assets at more 
than $250,000,000,000; and since the number of preventable deaths 
is estimated at 630,000, the annual waste from preventable deaths 
is 630,000 times $1,700 or about $1,000,000,000. This represents 
the annual preventable loss of potential earnings. . . . 



110. Minimum standards for child laborers ^ 

From the standpoint of national health, one of the most serious Progress in 
evils in American hfe is the widespread employment of young chil- iggjgij^^jQjj 
dren in industrial establishments. Fortunately there is an increas- 
ingly large number of laws which limit and control child labor. 
Thanks to the publicity work of such organizations as the National 
Child Labor Committee, the public is becoming aware of the neces- 
sity of still further safeguarding young children, so that the future 
will undoubtedly see a steady reduction in the evil of child labor. 
The following are the minimum standards for children entering em- 
ployment, as drawn up by the Washington and Regional Confer- 
ences on Child Welfare in 1919: 

Minimum Standards for Children Entering Employment 
Age Minimum. — An age minimum of 16 for employment in any Standards 
occupation, except that children between 14 and 16 may be employed g^^^^^j ' j^. 
in agriculture and domestic service during vacation periods until dustry, with 
schools are continuous throughout ■ the year. agT*^'^ 

An age minimum of 18 for employment in and about mines and 
quarries. 

An age minimum of 21 for girls employed as messengers for tele- 
graph and messenger companies. 

1 From the Washington and Regional Conferences on Child Welfare, 1919. (Printed 
and distributed by the National Child Labor Committee.) 



256 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



education, 



physical 
condition, 



hours of 
employment, 



An age minimum of 21 for employment in the special- delivery 
service of the U. S. Post Office Department. 

Prohibition of the employment of minors in dangerous, unhealthy, 
or hazardous occupations, or at any work which will retard their 
proper physical or moral development. 

Educational Minimum. — All children between 7 and 16 years 
of age shall be required to attend school for at least nine months 
each year. 

Children between 16 and 18 years of age who have completed the 
eighth but not the high-school grade, and are legally and regularly 
employed, shall be required to attend day continuation schools at 
least eight hours a week. 

Children between 16 and 18 who have not completed the eighth 
grade or children who have completed the eighth grade and are 
not regularly employed shall attend fuU-time school. Occupational 
training expeciaUy adapted to their needs shall be provided for 
those children who are unable because of mental subnormality 
to profit by ordinary school instruction. 

Vacation schools placing special emphasis on healthfxil play and 
leisure time activities, shall be provided for all children. 

Physical minimum. — A child shall not be allowed to go to work 
until he has had a physical examination by a public-school physician 
or other medical officer especially appointed for that purpose by 
the agency charged with the enforcement of the law, and has been 
found to be of normal development for a child of his age and 
physically fit for the work at which he is to be employed. 

There shall be annual physical examination of all working children 
who are under 18 years of age. 

Hours of employment. — No minor shall be employed more than 
8 hours a day or 44 hours a week. The maximum working day for 
children between 16 and 18 shall be shorter than the legal working 
day for adults. 

The hours spent at continuation schools by children under 18 
years of age shall be counted as part of the working day. 

Night work for minors shall be prohibited between 6 p.m. 
and 7 A.M. 

Minimum wage. — Minors at work shall be paid at a rate of wages 



HEALTH IN INDUSTRY 257 

which for full-time work shall yield not less than the minimum and wages, 
essential for the "necessary cost of proper living, as determined by 
a minimum wage commission or other similar official board. " Dur- 
ing a period of learning they may be rated as learners and paid 
accordingly. The length of the learning period should be fixed by 
such commission or other similar official board, on educational 
principles only. 

Placement and employment supervision. — There shall be a central Some addi- 
agency which shall deal with aU juvenile employment problems. . . . s^^ards. 

Employment certificates. — Provision shall be made for issuing em- 
ployment certificates to all children entering employment who are 
under 18 years of age. . . . 

Compulsory attendance laws. — Full-time attendance officers ade- 
quately proportioned to the school population shall be provided 
in cities, towns, and counties to enforce the school attendance 
law. . . . 

Factory inspection and physical examination of employed minors. — Factory 

I- -1 . rr • • inspection 

The number of [factoryj mspectors shall be sufficient to msure ^j^^j p^ygi. 
semi-annual inspection of all estabUshments in which children are cal examma 
employed, and such special inspections and investigations as are 
necessary to insure the protection of the children. 

Provision should be made for a staff of physicians adequate to 
examine annually all employed children under 18 years of age. 



111. Standards governing the employment of women ^ 

Closely related to the question of child labor is the employment Increasing 
of women in industrial establishments. While most students agree ^^^he^orob- 
that the employment of women ought to be safeguarded rather lem of 
than actually prohibited, nevertheless such employment may give -J^^^s^i-y 
rise to problems fully as grave as, those arising from child labor. 
During recent years the proportion of gainfully employed women 
in the United States has been increasing steadily, and the question 
of their protection in industrial pursuits is attracting more and more 
attention. In 1918 the United States Department of Labor drew 

1 From the United States Department of Labor, Standards for the Employment 
of Women in Industry. Bulletin No. 3, Washington, igi8. 



tion. 



2S8 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



The hours 
of labor 
for women 
in industry. 



Wages. 



Working 
conditions 
in estab- 
lishments 
employing 
women. 



up the following standards governing the employment of women 
in industry: 

Standards Recommended for the Employment of Women 

(In the following outline the italic type in the text indicates those 
provisions which are held to be of the most vital importance.) 

I. Hours of Labor 

1. Daily hours. No women shall he employed or permitted to work 
more than eight hours in any one day. The time when the work of 
women employees shall begin and end and the time allowed for meals 
shall be posted in a conspicuous place in each work room and a record 
shall be kept of the overtime of each woman worker. 

2. Half holiday on Saturday. Observance of the half -holiday should 
be the custom. 

3. One day of rest in seven. Every woman worker shall have one 
day of rest in every seven days. 

4. Time for meals. At least three-quarters of an hour shall he al- 
lowed for a meal. 

5. Rest periods. . . . 

6. Night work. No women shall he employed between the hours of 
ten P.M. and six A.M. 

II. Wages 

1. Equality with men's wages. Women doing the same work as 
men shall receive the same wages with such proportionate increases 
as the men are receiving in the same industry. . . . 

2. The basis of determination of wages. Wages should be estab- 
lished on the basis of occupation and not on the basis of sex. The 
minimum wage rate should cover the cost of living for dependents and 
not merely for the individual. 

III. Working Conditions 
I. Comfort and sanitation. — State labor laws and industrial 
codes shotild be consulted with reference to provisions for comfort 
and sanitation. Washing facilities, with hot and cold water, soap 
and individual towels, should be provided in sufficient number and 
in accessible locations to make washing before meals and at the close 
of the work day convenient. 



HEALTH IN INDUSTRY 259 

Toilets should be separate for men and women, clean and accessible. 
Their numbers should have a standard ratio to the number of workers 
employed. Workroom floors should be kept clean. Dressing rooms 
should be provided adjacent to washing facihties, making possible 
change of clothing outside the workrooms. Rest rooms should 
be provided. Lighting should be arranged that direct rays do not 
shine into the workers' eyes. Ventilation should be adequate and 
heat sufficient. Drinking water should be cool and accessible with 
individual drinking cups or bubble fountain provided. Provision 
should be made for the workers to secure a hot and nourishing meal 
eaten outside the workroom, and if no lunch rooms are accessible near 
the plant, a lunch room should be maintained in the establishment. 

2. Posture at work. — Continuous standing and continuous 
sitting are both injurious. A seat should be provided for every 
woman employed and its use encouraged. It is possible and desir- 
able to adjust the height of the chairs in relation to the height of 
machines or work tables, so that the worker may with equal con- 
venience and efficiency stand or sit at her work. The seats should 
have backs. If the chair is high, a foot rest should be provided. 

3. 5c/dy. — Risks from machinery, danger from fire and ex- 
posure to dust, fumes or other occupational hazards should be 
scrupulously guarded against h-^ observance of standards in state 
and Federal codes. First aid equipment should be provided. Fire 
drills and other forms of education of the workers in the observance 
of safety regulations should be instituted. . . . 

IV. Home Work 

I. No work shall be given out to be done 'in rooms used for living Home work. 
or sleeping purposes or in rooms diiectly connected with living or 
sleeping rooms in any dwelling or tenement. . . . 

112. Results of minimum wage legislation ^ 

One method of protecting women and children in industry is through 

minimum wage legislation. The essential feature of a minimum wage 

law is that it provides that in all or specified occupations certain 

» From the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 
Monthly Labor Review. Washington, March, 1921; pp. 17-20. 



26o 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Origin and 
development 
of minimum 
wage legis- 
lation in 
the United 
States. 



Extent of 
the survey 
conducted 
by the U.S. 
Department 
of Labor in 
igig. 



Attitude of 
employers 
toward the 
minimum 
wage law in 

San Fran- 



individuals may not be employed at less than a designated wage. The 
first minimum wage statute in this country was enacted by Massachu- 
setts in 191 2, but so rapidly did the movement spread that by 1921 
more than a dozen states had minimum wage laws on their statute 
books. In every case, such legislation appUes only to the employment 
of women and children, men being exempted from the operation 
of this type of law. In 1919 the United States Department of Labor 
conducted a survey of minimum wage legislation in the United 
States in order to discover its effects. The following is an extract 
from the report of the Department: 

[What is the attitude of the employers toward the law? The 
agent of the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the Department of Labor], 
in his tour of ten states was, of course, able to interview only a frac- 
tional part of the employers affected. However, the aggregate 
amounted to above 260, with more than 62,000 women and minors 
in their employment. The number of employers who expressed 
actual opposition to the law was almost negligible, though some were 
vigorous in their denunciation of it. The great majority accepted 
the law as a declaration of state policy and declared themselves 
ready to comply therewith, while many went beyond this and ex- 
pressed cordial approval of its principle and purpose. . . . 

Thus, taking a run of expressions in San Francisco as they were 
obtained, a department-store employer said that he had no objec- 
tion to the law, that it worked no hardship, that the girls were inter- 
ested to make good, and that the law was a great help in developing 
standards. The next visit was to a 5 and 10 cent store in which the 
law was said to be satisfactory, causing conditions which tended 
toward stability. Next a large department store reported the law 
"has an effect to stabiUze and standardize employment, this being 
one of the chief accompHshments of the law"; "have had no dis- 
missal or reduction in twelve months on account of incompetency." 
Next a smaller department store (275 females) reported it "not 
objectionable," while the women "think it greatly worth while." 
Next a department store: "Is splendid, rates certainly not too high," 
and it was believed that employers generally favored the law. One 
of the largest stores: " Such a law is the only thing to have " ; another 
department store: " Regard it most favorably " ; cannery: "Is satis- 



HEALTH IN INDUSTRY 261 

factory"; . . . chocolate factory: "Want Federal law to protect 
against interstate competition"; glace fruits: "No objection to 
law, but should be general"; candies: "Has good effect"; . . . 
lithograph company: "Law no check on business"; . . . clothing 
factory: "Attitude is favorable, though the law should be general"; 
shirts and overalls: "Is a good thing"; 5 and 10 cent store: "Ap- 
prove of the law, but should be general"; knit-goods factory: "Find 
it better to pay above minimum, though think the. law has no effects 
on the quality of the workers"; clothing factory: "Law no check 
on business"; millinery: "No objection to law since it treats all 
alike"; . . . bags: "Law is good thing, as it holds out prospect 
of advance to those who stay through learning period"; . . . 

This complete roster of the places visited in an important city and in 
in which union conditions only partially prevail is believed to be ^^^^^ cities, 
fairly representative. . . . Expressions found in the "Twin Cities" 
of Minnesota run as follows: "Law not desirable though it has 
a good effect for low-grade establishments"; "rate reasonable now 
but may be too high under other conditions"; "no objection"; 
"all right for skilled, but makes rate for learners too high and ad- 
vances too rapid"; "law all right"; "law is acceptable"; "tends 
to stabilize and gives self-respect to workers"; "approve the law, 
rates might be higher"; "disUke it very much"; "glad to have it"; 
"help is better and more contented"; "have been hurt and no help"; 
" not hked, paternaUstic " ; "law is all right " ; "all right, but learners' . 
rates too low"; "are ahead of law and intend always to comply"; 
"is all right and might go higher"; "attitude favorable"; "approve 
the law and could stand higher rate if uniform"; "keep ahead of 
law": "principle is good"; "gladly comply"; "hearty coopera- 
tion"; . . . 

Organized labor was, for the most part, found to be favorable to The atti- 

legislation of this type, the claim being made in several states that ^ ? , 
° . . organized 

the act was "organized labor's bill.'' State conventions have gone labor. 

on record in favor of the measures and their adequate enforcement, 

so that the occasional criticism made to the effect that the law was 

bad, because it led the women to depend on it rather than to organize, 

must be discounted as not indicating the general opinion of union 

labor on the subject. 



262 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Conclusion. The conclusion is inevitable that the allegations of injury to the 

workers as a result of minimum wage laws are without foundation, 
and that employers find it at least feasible to operate under the law, 
while many of them are its ardent supporters. ... 



Social in- 
surance in 
the United 
States. 



Title and 
application 
of the law. 



The Uability 
of the 
employer. 



113. A typical workmen's compensation law^ 

Of increasing importance in the field of labor legislation is social 
insurance. Social insurance involves the compulsory insurance of 
industrial employees against accident, sickness, old age, or unem- 
ployment. Up to the present time the only form of social insurance 
which has met with wide favor in the United States is insurance against 
industrial accidents. Such insurance is now quite generally provided 
under so-called workmen's compensation laws. The following ex- 
tracts from the Workmen's Compensation Law of New York will 
illustrate something of the purpose and scope of such legislation: 

Article i. Section i. Short title. — This chapter shall be known 
as the "workmen's compensation law." 

Section 2. Application. — Compensation provided for in this 
chapter shall be payable for injuries sustained or death incurred 
by employees engaged in the following hazardous employments: 
[Here following a detailed hst of employments, classified into forty- 
seven groups.]] . . . 

Article 2, Section 10. Liability for compensation. — Every 
employer subject to the provisions of this chapter shall pay or pro- 
vide as required in this chapter compensation according to the 
schedxile of this article for the disability or death of his employee 
resulting from an accidental personal injury sustained by the em- 
ployee arising out of and in the course of his employment, without 
regard to fault as a cause of such injury, except where the injury is 
occasioned by the wilful intention of the injured employee to bring 
about the injury or death of himself or of another, or where the 
injury results solely from the intoxication of the injured employee 
while on duty. . . . 

Section 12. Compensation not allowed for first two weeks. — No 



1 From the Statutes of the State of New York, Workmen's Compensation Law, 
as amended to August i, 1920. 



HEALTH IN INDUSTRY 263 

compensation shall be allowed for the first fourteen days of disability, A two 



weeks 
exemption 



except the benefits provided for in section thirteen of this chapter, 
provided, however, that in case the injury results in disability of period 
more than forty-nine days the compensation shall be allowed from 
the date of the disability. 

Section 13. Trealment and care of injured employees. — The em- The treat- 
ployer shall promptly provide for an injured employee such medical, ^^" ^^^^^ 
surgical or other attendance or treatment, nurse and hospital service, injured 
medicine, crutches and apparatus as the nature of the injury may ^""^ ^^'^' 
require during sixty days after the injury; but the [state commission 
administering the law] may, where the nature of the injury or the 
process of recovery requires a longer period of treatment,, require 
the same from the employer. . . . 

Section 14. Weekly wages basis of compensation. — Except as Basis of 

otherwise provided in this chapte*-, the average weekly wages of the compensa- 
tion, 
injured employee at the time of the injury shall be taken as the basis 

upon which to compute compensation or death benefits. . . . 

Section 15. Schedule in case of disability. — The following schedule Schedule 

of compensation is hereby estabhshed: govemmg 

... . . the pay- 

1. Total permanent disability. In case of total disabihty adjudged ment of 

to be permanent sixty-six and two- thirds per centum of the average ^mounts 
weekly wages shall be paid to the employee during the continuance injured 
of such total disabihty. Loss of both hands, or both arms, or both workman, 
feet, or both legs, or both eyes, or of any two thereof shall, in the 
absence of conclusive proof to the contrary, constitute permanent 
total disability. . . . 

2. Temporary total disabihty. In case of temporary total dis- 
abihty, sixty-six and two-thirds per centum of the average weekly 
wages shall be paid to th£ employee during the continuance thereof, 
but not in excess of three thousand five hundred dollars, except as 
otherwise provided in this chapter. 

3. Permanent partial disability. In case of disability partial in 
character, but permanent in quahty, the compensation shall be sixty- 
six and two-thirds per centum of the average weekly wages and shall 
be paid to the employee for the period named in the schedule, as 
follows: 

Thumb. For the loss of a thumb, sixty weeks. 



264 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



The death 
benefit. 



First finger. For the loss of a first finger, commonly called index 
finger, forty-six weeks. 

Second finger. For the loss of a second finger, thirty weeks. * 

Third finger. For the loss of a third finger, twenty-five weeks. 

Fourth finger. For the loss of a fourth finger, commonly called 
the Httle finger, fifteen weeks. 

[The remainder of this section specifies the nature and extent of 
compensation for injury sustained to other parts of the body.] 

Section 16. Death benefits. — If the injury causes death, the 
compensation shall be known as a death benefit and shall be payable 
in the amount and to and for the benefit of the persons following: 
[The remainder of this section specifies the amount of the funeral 
expenses, and the nature and extent of compensation paid the sur- 
viving wife, dependent husband, dependent children or other desig- 
nated dependents.3 ... 



The opposi- 
tion to 
labor legis- 
lation. 



Certain 

negative 

clauses 



114. The constitutionality of labor legislation ^ 

The student of American politics cannot but be struck by the recent 
tendency of our legislatures to enact statutes which have for their 
prime purpose the protection of wage- earners. Yet marked as this 
tendency has been, labor legislation in this country has met with con- 
siderable opposition. Our system of written constitutions and our 
dual form of government, dividing responsibility for action or in- 
action between the Federal government and the various state govern- 
ments, introduce many compHcations. The jealousy existing be- 
tween states often prevents the passage of social legislation, and 
the plea of " constitutionaUty " may nullify statutes duly enacted. 
In the following selection. Professor Carlton discusses this last- 
named obstacle to labor legislation: 

Trend of Court Decisions. — The extreme aversion to legal limita- 
tions upon the independence of the individual, and the excessive 
fear of governmental control, have led to some unanticipated con- 
sequences. Certain negative clauses which restrain constituted 
authority were incorporated into our state and Federal constitutions. 
These clauses were aimed at the ever-present specter of tyrannical 

1 From Frank Tracy Carlton, The History and Problems of Organized Labor. 
D. C. Heath & Co., 191 1; pp. 269-272. 



HEALTH IN INDUSTRY 265 

government. By a peculiar transmutation through judicial interpreta- 
tion they have become bulwarks behind which property owners 
are able to strongly intrench themselves. The famihar clause declar- 
ing that no person shall "be deprived of Hfe, Uberty, or property, 
without due process of law," was originally inserted into our con- 
stitutional system in order to prevent confiscation of property by 
tyrannical officials. 

Another familiar prohibition incorporated into our constitutional in our Fed- 
system for similar reasons declares that no law may be passed which ^l'^] ^"^ 
•' state con- 

interferes with the freedom of private contracts or engagements, stitutions 

Again, more or less defined prohibitions of special or class legislation \^^^^ ^^^" 
which grants special privileges are found in the constitutions of so as 
many states; and the fourteenth amendment to the Federal Consti- 
tution among other things declares "that no state shaU make or 
enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of 
citizens of the United States." 

Strictly interpreted, these clauses seem to constitute a constitu- artificially 
tional prohibition of legislation which interferes with the so-caUed to strengthen 

^ _ _ individual 

freedom of contract, and of class legislation. In reality, these pro- and corpo- 

hibitions artificially strengthen what are called individual and cor- ^^^'^ rights. 

porate rights, and give those rights an almost impregnable 

position. . . . 

Labor legislation constitutes an interference with the original Labor legis- 

and unmodified doctrines of liberty and of the freedom of contract. ^,^^°" ^^ 

the pohce 

Labor legislation when sustained by the courts is sustained as a legiti- power, 
mate exercise of the police power. The decisions are still conflicting, 
and the outcome in a given case involving the application of the 
police power, uncertain; but the philosophy underlying our judi- 
cial system is undoubtedly undergoing radical and far-reaching 
modifications. 

The majorit}' of the members of the Supreme Court of the United Conserva- 

States during the decade from igbo to loio were old men. Several ^^^'^ '" ' 

^ ^ ence of the 

were over seventy years of age; and a recent appointee is nearly Supreme 
seventy years old. These men received their training and had their [^°^^^' ^'?°° 
ideals and philosophy of life definitely formulated a generation ago. 
But since that time the fundamentals of economic and political sci- 
ence have been subjected to important transformations. As younger 



266 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



The recent 
trend of 
court deci- 
sions is fa- 
vorable to 
the develop- 
ment of 
labor legis- 
lation. 



men, trained in the newer school of economics and saturated with 
the recent teachings of our colleges and universities, come to the 
front in the legal profession, we may confidently expect the older 
laissez jaire or individualistic theory of the law and of justice to be 
more rapidly modified. 

The trend of court decisions has been away from the traditional 
idea of freedom and laissez Jaire, and toward an increase in the pohce 
power of the state in the interests of practical and tangible freedom 
for the individual. The pressure of industrial change has been so 
potent and compeUing that legal precedents, social inertia, and the 
direct opposition of -certain classes in the community have gradually, 
but tardily, jdelded. There is reason to believe that many limita- 
tions now deemed essential by our courts will soon be seen to be 
non-essential and subversive of free institutions in the twentieth 
century. . . . One student of this problem has arrived at the con- 
clusion that the constitutionality of a restrictive labor law depends 
upon its wisdom. "In other words, granted that a restriction is 
wise under the given condition, it is an easy task to prove that it 
is also constitutional." This over-enthusiastic statement is borne 
out in a large measure by the court decisions relative to the constitu- 
tionality of laws limiting the hours of the working day. It is perhaps 
needless to remark that the interpretation of what is wise or unwise 
in a given situation will be subject to wide variation. ... 



Questions on the foregoing Readings 

1. What is an important menace to our national ef&ciency? 

2. Discuss the loss of time in the United States which is due to 

invalidity. 

3. What are the effects of a shortened working day upon health? 

4. Discuss the money appraisal of preventable waste in human life 

in the United States. 

5. Outline the age minimum for the employment of children, as 

formulated by the Washington and Regional Conferences on 
Child Welfare. 

6. What can be said as to the educational minimum for children 

entering industrial employments? 

7. What physical minimum should be insisted upon for children 

entering industry? 



HEALTH IN INDUSTRY 267 

8. What limitations should be placed upon child labor with respect 

to hours of employment? 

9. What provision should be made for the physical examination of 

employed minors? 

10. What problem is closely related to the question of child labor? 

11. Is it the opinion of most students of the problem that the employ- 

ment of women should be prohibited, or that it should merely 
be safeguarded? 

12. Outline the standards recommended by the Department of Labor 

with respect to the hours during which women ought to be 
employed. 

13. What are the standards of this Department with respect to the 

wages of women? 

14. Outline the chief recommendations of the Department of Labor 

with respect to the conditions under which women ought to 
work. 

15. What is the recommendation of the Department with respect to 

home work? 

16. When and where was the first minimum wage law enacted in this 

country? 

17. Summarize the opinions of employers toward the minimum wage, 

as ascertained by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in 1919. 

18. What, in general, was found to be the attitude of organized labor 

toward this type of legislation? 

19. What forms may social insurance take? Which of these forms is 

well developed in the United States? 

20. Summarize the provisions of the Workmen's Compensation Law 

of New York with respect to the employer's liability for com- 
pensation. 

21. What does this law say regarding the treatment and care of in- 

jured employees? 

22. What does the law say concerning the schedule of compensation 

in case of disability? 

23. What are some of the factors which have obstructed the progress 

of labor legislation in this country? 

24. Enumerate some constitutional clauses which have artificially 

strengthened individual and corporate rights. 

25. What reason does Professor 'Carlton give for the conservative 

character of the decisions of our Supreme Court between 1900 
and 1910? 

26. What does Professor Carlton conclude as to the recent trend of 

court decisions with respect to labor legislation? 



CHAPTER XX 
IMMIGRATION AND ASSIMILATION 



Of the 
numerous 
phases of 
the immi- 
gration 
problem, 
the eco- 
nomic is per- 
haps the 
most funda- 
mental. 



Recent im- 
migrants 
unfamiliar 
with the 
occupations 
which they 
enter in 
this coun- 
try. 



Illiteracy. 



115. The nature of the immigrant labor supply ^ 

Of the numerous problems confronting the American people, 
few are more pressing and none is more complex than that of immi- 
gration. Of the many aspects which this problem presents, perhaps 
the most fundamental is the economic. The influx into this country 
of milhons of unskilled laborers has exerted a profound effect upon 
our industrial Ufe, and, indirectly, upon our social and pohtical insti- 
tutions. The industrial significance of the immigrant is shown by 
the following extract, in which the United States Immigration Com- 
mission outlines the sahent characteristics of the labor supply 
furnished by the "new" immigration: 

(a) From a strictly industrial standpoint, one of the facts of great- 
est import relative to the new arrivals has been . . . that an ex- 
ceedingly small proportion have had any training or experience . . . 
for the industrial occupations in which they have found employ- 
ment in this country. The bulk, of recent immigrants has been 
drawn from the agricultural classes of southern and eastern 
Europe and most of the recent immigrants were farmers or farm 
laborers in their native lands. In this respect they afford a striking 
contrast to immigrants of past years from Great Britain and northern 
Europe, who were frequently skilled industrial workers before coming 
to the United States, and who sought positions in this country similar 
to those which they had occupied abroad. 

(b) In addition to lack of industrial training and experience, the 
new immigrant labor supply has been found to possess but small 
resources from which to develop industrial efficiency and advance- 
ment. . . . Practically none of the races of southern and eastern 

1 From the United States Immigration Commission, Abstracts of Reports, with 
Conclusions, etc. Washington, 191 1, Vol. i, pp. 498-500. 

268 



IMMIGRATION AND ASSIMILATION 269 

Europe have been able to speak English at the time of immigration 
to this country, and, owing to their segregation and isolation from 
the native American population in living and working conditions, 
their progress in acquiring the language has been very slow. The 
incoming supply of immigrant labor has also been characterized 
by a high degree of illiteracy. . . . 

(c) Still another saUent fact in connection with the recent immi- Effect of 
grant labor supply has been the necessitous condition of the new- ^^'^^^^ 
comers. . . . Recent immigrants have usually had but a few dollars arrival, 
in their possession when they arrived at the ports of disembarkation. 
Consequently they have found it absolutely imperative to engage 

in work at once. They have not been in position to take exception 
to the wages or working conditions offered, but must needs go to work 
on the most advantageous terms they could secure. 

(d) The standards of living of the recent industrial workers from Recent im- 

the south and east of Europe have been low. . . . During the earlier J^^srants 

_ ° have a low 

part, at least, of their residence in the United States, they have been standard of 

content with Hving and working conditions offered to them, and "^■"^■ 

it has been only after the most earnest solicitation, or sometimes 

even coercion, upon the part of older employees, that they have 

been persuaded or forced into protests. . . . The Ufe interest and 

activity of the average wage-earner from southern and eastern Europe 

have seemed to revolve principally about three points: (i) To earn 

the largest possible amount of immediate earnings under existing 

conditions of work; (2) to live upon the basis of minimum cheapness; 

and (3) to save as much as possible. The ordinar>' comforts of Ufe 

as insisted upon by the average American have been subordinated 

to the desire to reduce the cost of Uving to its lowest level. 

(e) [Again, recent immigrants] have constituted a mobile, migra- A transient 
tory, wage-earning class, constrained mainly by their economic '^''**" 
interest, and moving readily from place to place according to changes 

in working conditions or fluctuations in the demand for labor. ... In 
brief, the recent immigrants have no property or other restraining 
interests which attach them to a commvmity. . . . 

(/) The members of the larger number of races of recent entrance .\ttitude in 
to the mines, mills, and factories as a rule have been tractable and \i "^'^"^ 

disputes. 

easily managed. This quahty seems to be a temperamental one 



270 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



acqiiired through present or past conditions of hfe in their native 
lands. When aroused by strikes or other industrial dissensions, some 
eastern European races have displayed an inchnation to foUow their 
leaders to any length, ... but in the normal life of the mines, mills, 
and factories, the southern and eastern Europeans have exhibited 
a pronounced tendency toward being easily managed by employers 
and toward being imposed upon without protest, which has created 
the impression of subserviency. . . . 



Survey con- 
ducted by 
the U.S. 
Immigration 
Commission. 



Foreword. 



Predomi- 
nance of re- 
cent immi- 
grants. 



116. Living conditions in immigrant communities ^ 

The congestion of immigrants in large cities has long been con- 
sidered one of the most unfavorable features of the modern problem 
of immigration. In igii the United States Immigration Commission 
reported upon the results of an extensive survey, conducted under 
its direction for the purpose of ascertaining the character of living 
conditions in immigrant communities in the crowded quarters of New 
York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Cleveland, Buffalo and Mil- 
waukee. A summary of the results of this investigation follows: 

In view of the fact that this study is limited to congested and poor 
districts of the cities investigated, it is important to keep in mind 
that the report does not represent conditions outside of such dis 
tricts, and that comparisons by race apply only to those representa- 
tives of each race who hve in the poorer sections of the cities. 

1. The search for immigrant races in congested districts revealed 
the fact that the population of such districts consists predominantly 
of races of recent immigratien. Races of the older immigration and 
their descendants are represented for the most part only by the rem- 
nants of an earUer population, whose economic progress has not 
kept pace with that of their fellows who have moved to better 
surroundings. ... 

2. Forty-eight of every 100 foreign-born male heads of house- 
holds studied have come to the United States within the past ten 
years, and 21 of every 100 have come within five years. . . . 

3. Immigration to the United States has been, on the part of male 
heads of households in the districts studied, largely a migration from 

1 From the United States Immigration Commission, Abstracts of Reports, with 
Conclusions, etc. Washington, 191 1, Vol. i, pp. 727-730. 



IMMIGRATION AND ASSIMILATION 271 

country to city of people unfamiliar with urban conditions. Thirty- Previous 
nine of every 100 who were 16 years of age or over at the time of <^ondition. 
coming to the United States were engaged in farming in the country 
of their former residence. . . . 

4. Nearly one- tenth of all the families investigated own their Proportion 
homes. ... In general much larger proportions of the older immi- ° °™*^ 
grant races than of those of recent immigration are home owners. . . . 

5. Twenty-six households in every 100 studied keep boarders Boarders 
or lodgers. . . . The proportion is smaller in native-born white lodgers. 
households than in foreign households. Considering all immigrants 
regardless of race, it will be found that the proportion of house- 
holds with boarders or lodgers is only about half as great among 
immigrants who have Uved in the United States ten years or more 

as among the more recent immigrants. 

6. Forty-five in every 100 of the homes studied are kept in good Cleanliness, 
condition, and 84 in every 100 are kept in either good or fair con- 
dition. ... As a rule the races of the older immigration have a 

higher proportion of well-kept apartments than have the recent 
immigrant races, but in general the proportion of well-kept homes 
is high. The neglected appearance of a great many of the streets 
is a result of the indiflference on the part of the city authorities. . . . 
In frequent cases the streets are dirty while the homes are clean. 

7. Sanitary equipment depends primarily on the city. The sanitation, 
districts investigated in Philadelphia and Cleveland make the least 
satisfactory showing in this respect. . . . 

8. In the households investigated the average number of persons and con- 

per 100 rooms is 134, and per 100 sleeping rooms 2^2. The cities S'^stion in 

^ the cities 

may be arranged in regard to crowding in the following order: Boston, surveyed. 

144 persons per 100 rooms; Philadelphia, 141; Cleveland, 140; New 
York, 139; Buflfalo, 133; Chicago, 126; Milwaukee, 114. Density 
of population, or congestion per acre, is not the only factor in deter- 
mining the degree of crowding per room. Well-regulated tenement 
houses are better adapted to the needs of a crowded city than are 
private homes converted for the use of several families. EnHghtened 
tenement-house laws, effectively enforced, minimize the unavoidable 
evils which arise from the crowding together of large numbers of 
families. ... 



274 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



selection, California's objections to the Japanese invasion are summed 
up by Hon. James D. Phelan, United States Senator from California: 

The solution of the Japanese problem, growing out of the Cali- 
fornia situation, requires prompt action by Congress. It is charged 
with danger. The people of Japan, as well as the people of the 
eastern states, should be informed in a spirit of frankness. There 
should be no misunderstanding, because misunderstandings breed 
trouble. 

Great numbers of Japanese, men and women, are in California, 
and are acquiring large tracts of agricultural land. The state law 
forbade ownership by aliens ineligible to citizenship, but the Japanese 
took deeds in the name of their children bom on the soil, or in the name 
of corporations, and so circumvented the intent of the law. The 
initiative law adopted at the recent November elections will, it is 
hoped, prevent this circumvention, thus making further acquisition 
impossible. 

The Japanese also lease lands and work for a share of the crop, 
and when thus working for themselves are impossible competitors, 
and drive the white settlers, whose standards of Uving are different, 
from their farms. The white farmer is not free from cupidity when 
tempted by Japanese to sell out at high prices, and they do sell out 
and disappear. The state, therefore, is obUged as a simple matter 
of self-preservation to prevent the Japanese from absorbing the 
soil, because the future of the white race, American institutions, and 
western civilization are put in peril. The Japanese do not assimilate 
with our people and make a homogeneous population, and hence they 
cannot be naturaUzed and admitted to citizenship. 

Therefore, the question is principally economic, and partly racial. 
Japan herself excluded Chinese in order to preserve her own people, 
and that is what California, Australia and Canada are doing. Jap- 
anese statesmen must surely, for these reasons, acquit Americans 
of race prejudice. We are willing to receive diplomats, scholars and 
travelers from Japan on terms of equality, but we do not want her 
laborers. We admire their industry and cleverness, but for that 
very reason, being a masterful people, they are more dangerous. 
They are not content to work for wages, as do the Chinese, who are 
excluded, but are always seeking control of the farm and of the crop. 



IMMIGRATION AND ASSIMILATION 275 

Immigration and naturalization are domestic questions, and no The atti- 

people can come to the United States except upon our own terms. *"^*^ °^ 

. California. 

We must preserve the sou for the Caucasian race. The Japanese, 

by crowding out our population, produce disorder and bolshevism 
among our own people, who properly look to our government to pro- 
tect them against this destructive competition. California, by acting 
in time, before the evil becomes even greater, expects to prevent 
conflict and to maintain good relations with the Japanese Government. 

The American Government rests upon the free choice of the people. The purpose 
and a large majority of the people are engaged in farming pursuits. °^ ?"'". 

exclusion 

They form the backbone of every country — the repository of morals, policy, 
patriotism and thrift, and in time of their country's danger spring 
to its defense. They represent its prosperity in peace and its security 
in war. The soil can not be taken from them. Their standards of 
living can not suffer from deterioration. Their presence is essential 
to the life of the state. I therefore urge the Japanese Government 
and people to put themselves in our place and to acquit us of any 
other purpose in the exclusion of oriental immigration than the 
preservation of our national life. . . . 

The people of Asia have a destiny of their own. We shall aid them Conclusion, 
by instruction and example, but we can not sufifer them to over- 
whelm the civilization which has been established by pioneers and 
patriots and which we are dutifully bound to preserve. 



119. Americanizing the immigrant ^ 

Of recent years the assimilation or Americanization of the immigrant Growing 
has been of rapidly increasing importance. This is particularly true ^po^tance 

r I • 1 1 • 1 1 I 1 °^ ^^^ prob- 

of the penod which has elapsed since the outbreak of the World War km of assim- 
in 1914. That struggle called our attention to the danger of toler- il^-tion. 
ating large masses of unassimilated foreigners in our midst, and stimu- 
lated increased interest in the problem of Americanization. In the 
following passage, the United States Bureau of Education sums up 
some of the factors involved in an Americanization program for 
individual states: 

* From the United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Education, 
Bulletin, 1919, No. 77. State Americanization, Washington, 1920; pp. 24-26. 



276 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



The place 
of local 
communities 
in Ameri- 
canization 
work. 



The role of 
the state 
chamber of 
commerce, 

labor organ- 
izations, 



associations 
of manufac- 
turers. 



educational 
agencies. 



associations 
of women. 



and other 
organiza- 
tions 



The great task of educating, protecting, and assimilating our 
foreign-bom people must be performed by the communities where 
these people live and work. These communities must be organized 
and set to work. It should be unnecessary to create any new ma- 
chinery within a community, for every community has already of 
its own initiative formed organizations and societies which are ready 
for the work. The task is to bring them together in one united 
force. . . . 

The state chamber of commerce, wherever it exists, should be a 
powerful factor in bringing back of the state program the influential 
and representative bodies which compose its membership. . . . 

The state federation of labor, with its hundreds of local unions, 
is a necessary factor, for through the unions direct influence may be 
brought to bear upon the non-English-speaking workmen to enter 
the classes wherever they may be formed. . . . 

The state association of manufacturers represents a group which 
is indispensable in the work of Americanization. The active support 
and complete sympathy of the manufacturers must be secured by 
each community. . . . 

The state departments of education, of health, of industrial rela- 
tions, and those other bureaus which are concerned in the broader 
aspects of Americanization should of course be brought into the plans. 
The state university, through its education extension work, can 
be of very great assistance not only in the educational phases of the 
work but in the social aspects as well. Through its traveling hbraries, 
film service, community center, and other work, the extension division 
can directly assist the communities in practical Americanization. 

The state federation of women's clubs and the women's patriotic 
organizations can start a great force at work in every community 
in the state, and they should be brought completely into the plans 
of the state committee. 

The special educational branches, such as home economics, kinder- 
garten, and school nursing, can through their state leaders be of 
material assistance. The state organizations of the doctors, visiting 
nurses, lawyers, bankers, dentists, architects, and others can not 
only render direct assistance, but they can in turn spur their individual 
members to proffer their help to the local committees. 



IMMIGRATION AND ASSIMILATION 277 

The state library association, the state Young Men's Christian and associ- 
Association, Young Women's Christian Association, Knights of ^^lons. 
Columbus, Young Men's Hebrew Association, and other semi-public 
institutions, the Boy and Girl Scouts, the social workers, the churches 
and the church organizations — all of these should be interested in 
the work. 

Of an importance which is very great are the racial organizations. 
Many of the local racial societies are formed into state groups, and 
if the interest, sympathy, and support of the latter are once secured, 
that of the former will naturally follow. 

In bringing all of these active agencies into a common program, Necessity of 
great tact on the part of the state committee or director will be re- ^p*'''^'"^'^- 
quired. Many of these agencies are already at work in the field. 
It will not be an easy task to incorporate them into a common pro- 
gram, but it can be done. . . . 

With vision, sympathy, tolerance, and a sincere friendliness toward The goal of 
the foreign-born by those in authority within the States, with ade- ^'"5"'^^"'' 
quate funds for the provision of educational facihties for their needs, 
and with earnest and cordial cooperation on the part of all the power- 
ful forces of the Nation, State, and community, America can within 
a decade weld all of its various peoples into one great, harmonious, 
homogeneous whole and the words of its national motto be at last 
achieved — "One out of many." 

120. A proposed immigration policy ^ 

Following the conclusion of the World War, there was a growing Question of 
demand for a definite immigration policy on the part of the United ^." "^'"IS'''^" 
States. By many it was declared that immigration to America, inter- after the 
rupted by the war, would recommence in such volume as to render ^^"^'^ ^'^'■• 
impossible the assimilation of the newcomers. While uncertain as 
to the volume of post-war immigration, many others admitted that 
the country could not effectively meet its post-war adjustment prob- 
lems unless immigration were drastically restricted. In 1921, when 
the question of an immigration policy was being generally discussed, 

* From the National Committee for Constructive Immigration Legislation, 
Program. Printed in the Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social 
Science, Vol. xciu. Philadelphia, 1921; pp. 213-214. 



278 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



the National Committee for Constructive Immigration Legislation 
proposed the following immigration policy: 

[The Committee] advocates the scientific regulation of immigra- 
tion. It does not propose either the complete stoppage of immi- 
gration or its unlimited admittance. It urges that the amount of 
immigration which may be admitted wisely in any given year depends 
on facts which are not generally known, and which can not be known 
until patient, scientific investigation has been made of two distinct 
sets of factors; one social, the other economic. 

Neither Congress nor the people as a whole has at present adequate 
knowledge on which to base a hard and fast immigration law that 
would be really wise and safe for us, or fair and friendly to the peoples 
clamoring for entrance. 

What is needed is a law that will define certain principles for the 
guidance of decisions, that will set up the requisite machinery for 
getting the needed facts; and that will provide an agency for evalu- 
ating those facts and for applying the principles in the light of the 
facts, so that the immigration allowed may be steadily adjusted to 
the ever-changing economic, industrial and social conditions. 

We contend that this pohcy, if adopted, wiU create an automatic 
barometer of admissibility of assimilable immigration. 

The policy and program advocated by the National Committee 
are based upon and embody the following General Principles: 

1. That aU legislation deaHng with immigration and with resident 
aliens should be based on justice and good- will as well as on economic 
and political considerations. 

2. That the United States should so regulate, and, where necessary, 
restrict immigration in order to provide that only so many immi- 
grants of each race or people may be admitted as can be wholesomely 
Americanized. 

3. That the number of those individuals of each race or people 
already in the United States who have already become Americanized 
affords the best practicable basis of measuring the further immi- 
gration of that people. 

4. That American standards of living should be protected from 
the dangerous economic competition of immigrants, whether from 
Europe or from Asia. 



IMMIGRATION AND ASSIMILATION 279 

5. That no larger amount of immigration of any given people 
should be admitted than can find steady employment and can fit 
wholesomely into our social, political and economic- life. 

6. That such provisions should be made for the care, education and Attitude 
distribution of ah ens who come to live permanently among us as toward 

_ aliens per- 

will promote their rapid and genuine transformation into American manently 
citizens and thus maintain intact our democratic institutions and '■^*"^'^"t 

here. 

national unity. 

7. That the standards of naturahzation should be raised so as to standards 
include among other requirements at least the abiUty to read an °^ naturali- 
ordinary American newspaper, some real knowledge of the history 

of the United States, and an intelligent acceptance of the practices 
and ideals of our democracy. 

8. That under careful regulation as to numbers and qualifications Citizenship, 
of permitted immigration from the various peoples, the privilege of 
acquiring citizenship by those who are lawfully here and are to re- 
main a permanent part of our population should then be granted 

to all who actually qualify, regardless of race. . . . 



Questions on the foregoing Readings 

1. Which aspect of the immigration problem is probably the most 

fundamental? 

2. What effect does lack of funds have upon the occupations of 

recent immigrants? 

3. Explain what is meant by saying that the recently arrived immi- 

grant often has a low standard of living. 

4. To what extent is it true that the attitude of many recently 

arrived immigrants toward their employers is one of subserviency? 

5. Name the cities in which the U. S. Immigration Commission con- 

ducted a survey of the living conditions among immigrant 
groups. 

6. Discuss the prevalence of boarders and lodgers in the households 

of recent immigrants. 

7. What can be said as to the cleanliness of the homes of the immi- 

grant groups studied by the Commission? 

8. Compare the various cities surveyed by the Commission with 

respect to congestion in immigrant quarters. 

9. Name three Presidents who vetoed immigration bills embodying 

a literacy test. 



28o READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 

10. What, in essence, is the provision for a literacy test in the immi- 

gration law of 191 7? 

11. Name some classes which are excluded from the operation of the 

test. 

12. What is the special significance of the problem of Japanese immi- 

gration? 

13. Discuss the economic objection to Japanese immigration. 

14. What is the racial argument against Japanese immigration? 
^15. What is the attitude of California toward the Japanese question? 

16. What is the prime purpose of our policy of restricting the immi- 
gration of Japanese to this country? 
\.i7. What effect did the World War have upon the question of Ameri- 
canization? 

18. Name some ways in which various state and local agencies could 

aid in the work of Americanization. 

19. What is the goal of Americanization? 

20. Discuss the movement toward the formulation of an immigration 

policy. 

21. What is the attitude toward immigration of the National Com- 

mittee for Constructive Immigration Legislation? 

22. Enumerate some of the elements contained in the program pro- 

posed by this Committee. 

23. What is the attitude of the Committee toward naturalization and 

citizenship? 



CHAPTER XXI 

CRIME AND CORRECTION 

121. Taft on the defects of criminal procedure ^ 

It is a notorious fact that procedure in the courts of the United Legal pro- 
States is so defective as to impede rather than to guarantee justice. ^^ ^ "^ . 
No one has more keenly realized this fact, and no one has more States is 
frankly expressed his disapproval of the existing situation, than ^"t^- 
William H. Taft, Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. 
In April, 1908, the Chief Justice, then Secretary of War, delivered 
an address before the Civic Forum in New York City, in which he 
pointed out the delays and defects in the enforcement of law in 
this country. That part of his address which applies with particular 
force to criminal procedure follows: 

If one were to be asked in what respect we had fallen furthest Serious 
short of ideal conditions in our whole government, I think he would "^.^^""^ °^ 
be justified in answering, in spite of the glaring defects in our system 
of municipal government, that it is in our failure to secure expedition 
and thoroughness in the enforcement of pubUc and private rights 
in our courts. I do not mean to say that the judges of the courts 
are lacking in either honesty, industry, or knowledge of the law, but 
I do mean to say that the machinery of which they are a part is so 
cumbersome and slow and expensive for the litigants — public and 
private — that the whole judicial branch of the government fails 
in a marked way to accomplish certain of the purposes for which 
it was created. . . . 

When we come to the administration of criminal law and the asser- Our crim- 
tion of'pubhc right, which have a more direct bearing upon the ^^^ ^^df- 
welfare of the whole people than the settlement of private rights, grace to 
the injurious delays caused by the procedure provided by legislative ^^^^ ization. 

* From William Howard Taft, Address delivered before the Civic Forum, in 
Carnegie Hall, New York City, April 28, igo8. 



282 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Court pro- 
cedure in 
the United 
States and 
England 
contrasted. 



How the 
criminal 
may escajje 
punishment. 



The jury 
problem. 



act are greatly accentuated. No one can examine the statistics of 
crime in this country and consider the relatively small number of 
prosecutions which have been successful, without reahzing that the 
administration of the criminal law is a disgrace to our civiUzation. . . . 

We have, as is well understood, certain constitutional restrictions 
as to the procedure in criminal cases, which ofEer protection to the. 
accused and present difficulties in the proof of his guilt. But these 
obtain as well in the Enghsh courts as in our own, and their existence 
does not offer a reason for the delays from which we suffer, for such 
delays do not exist in the administration of justice in England. 
A murder case which in this country is permitted to drag itself out 
for three weeks or a month, in England is disposed of in a day, two 
days, or, at the most, three days, — certainly in less than one-fifth 
the time. This is because the English judges insist upon expedition 
by counsel, cut short useless cross-examinations, and confine the evi- 
dence to the nub of the case. . . . Under such practice, it would 
be possible for the prosecuting attorneys to clear their dockets; as 
it is now they are utterly unable to do so. 

At the present time, in our larger cities, a man who is indicted 
and has means with which to secure bail is released on bond, unless 
he is confined for murder in the first degree. The pressure upon the 
prosecuting officers is for the trial of those who are in jail and unable 
to give bail, and as a result of the delays I have mentioned, jail 
cases are protracted and the trial of those who are released on bail 
is postponed oftentimes to the indefinite future, the evidence dis- 
appears, newer and more sensational cases come on, and ultimately 
nolles are entered and the indicted man escapes. . . . 

Another cause of the inefficiency in the administration of the 
criminal law is the difficulty of securing jurors properly sensible of 
the duty which they are summoned to perform. In the extreme 
tenderness which the state legislatures exhibit toward persons accused 
as criminals, and especially as murderers, they allow peremptory 
challenges to the defendant far in excess of those allowed to the 
prosecution. In my own state of Ohio, for a long time, in capital 
cases, the law allowed the prosecution two peremptory challenges 
and the defendant tv/enty-three. This very great discrimination 
between the two sides of the case enabled the defendant's coxmsel 



CRIME AND CORRECTION 283 

to eliminate from the panel every man of force and character, and 
to assemble a collection in the jury box of nondescripts of no character, 
who were amenable to every breeze of emotion, however maudlin 
or irrelevant the issue. . . . 

Another reason for delays in the enforcement of criminal law is Abuse of 
to be found in the right of repeated appeals which are given in criminal ^^^ "f^^ ^^ 
cases. The code of evidence, with its compUcated rules and numerous 
technical statutory Umitations designed to favor the defendant, are 
all used as a trap to catch the trial court in error, however technical, 
upon which, in appellate proceedings, a reversal of the judgment * 
of the court below may be obtained. The rule which generally ob- 
tains in this country is, that any error, however shght, must lead 
to a reversal of the judgment, unless it can be shown aflilrmatively 
that it did not prejudice the defendant. The disposition on the 
part of the courts to think that every provision of every rule of the 
criminal law is one to be strictly construed in favor of the defendant, 
[leads to undue delay in the criminal trial.] . . . 



122. Results of the public defender movement ^ 

These glaring defects in our criminal procedure are becoming better Significance 
known to the pubHc at large, but as yet the reform of such procedure ° ^I^'l P^ 
has proceeded slowly and with difficulty. Here and there, however, movement, 
the efforts of constructive reformers have been attended with a 
considerable degree of success. A notable development is the pubUc 
defender movement, which began as recently as 1913, but which is 
already sufficiently important to warrant serious attention and study. 
The results of the movement, which aims to provide an honest and 
capable public attorney to defend impoverished or ignorant defend- 
ants, are summed up by Reginald Heber Smith, of the Massachusetts 
Bar, in the following language: 

It is unquestionable that the existence of the defender must prevent The de- 
some unjust convictions. We beUeve that by a jury verdict after [^^'^^^ '^^'P^ 

•'■>•' to secure a 

a fair trial we approximate the truth as closely as is possible. The fair trial. 

> From the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Bulletin 
No. 13. {Justice and the Poor, by Reginald Heber Smith.) New York, 1919; 
pp. 119-123. 



284 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



The de- 
fender be- 
comes a 
specialist in 
criminal 
law, and 
this re- 
acts to the 
benefit of 
poor de- 
fendants. 



The public 
defender 
method rel- 
atively 
economical. 



The public 
defender 
raises the 
tone of the 
criminal 
trial, 



defender reduces the danger of error to a minimum because he 
guarantees a fair trial to every one. . . . 

The case for the defender rests primarily on the fact that such an 
office performs an essential function in the administration of justice 
more efficiently, more economically, and with aU-round better results 
than any other plan. The increased efficiency can readily be appre- 
ciated. . . . The attorney who devotes aU his time to criminal work 
is more famihar with the law and the details of procedure than the 
attorney who is occasionally assigned a case. Centrahzation of work 
makes speciahzation possible. The office learns the easiest method 
of conducting the work, it develops its own staff of investigators, 
and knows the proper authorities to constilt as points arise. The 
defender becomes an expert in criminal law. . . . 

A defender's office, whether supported by the state or by con- 
tributions, obviously costs more than assigned counsel who are 
paid nothing. If, however, adequate representation is to be had, 
assigned counsel must be paid and their expenses reimbursed, so that 
the true comparison to determine the more economical method is 
between the defender and paid assigned counsel. During the first 
ten months the expense of the criminal department of the Los An- 
geles office was about $8400; during 1915, $9400; and during 1916, 
$11,161.40. The average cost per case was respectively $23.86, 
$20.88, and $21.38, or a flat average for three years in 1324 cases 
of $21.87 P^r case. In the superior court for Milwaukee, where 
assigned counsel are paid, the expense over a period of four years 
ending 1913 averaged $4934.25 per year for 121 assignments each 
year, or an average cost per case of $40.86. It is probably not 
inaccurate to estimate that to secure adequate representation for 
indigent prisoners by paying assigned counsel is twice as expensive 
as by the defender plan. . . . 

[A further result of the pubHc defender movement is that] the 
whole tone of criminal trials has been raised. ... In both Los 
Angeles and New York the defender has the cordial support of the 
district attorney. The defense is conducted -without resort to trickery 
or deliberate falsehood, and the knowledge of this fact permits the 
prosecution to adopt an equally high plane of conduct. . . . 

That the defender tries his cases on their merits without resort 



CRIME AND CORRECTION 285 

to technical objections taken chiefly for purposes of delay, and that and saves 



tune in 
criminal 



this course saves time and expense to the state without prejudice 

to the defendants, is borne out by such figures as are available, procedure. 

[In Los Angeles in 1914 the time saved by the defender was on] an 

average shghtly more than half a day per case tried. From this it 

is easy to see that in the course of fifty or one hundred trials quite 

a saving is effected when it is remembered that the daily cost to the 

state of a criminal jury trial is from one hundred and fifty to two 

hundred dollars. . . . 

123. Tendencies in the juvenile court movement ^ 
Toward the end of the last century there was a growing feeling Why the 

among students of crime that the juvenile offender ought not to be Juvenile 

.... court was 

classed with the adult criminal. The view gained ground that the developed. 

boy or girl convicted of wrong-doing ought to be subjected to treat- 
ment which would aim, not so much to punish the offender, as to 
correct the mistaken tendencies of youth. After 1899 ^ response to 
this conviction was evidenced in the creat'On of juvenile courts in 
various states of the Union. The Children's Bureau in the Depart- 
ment of Labor recently conducted a nation-wide survey of juvenile 
courts, and summarized the significant tendencies of the juvenile 
court movement in the foUowiag language: 

The wisdom of deaUng with the child offender not as a wrong- A wise step, 
doer, but as one in special need of care and protection, has been 
fully borne out in practical experience. . . . 

The extension of juvenile court organization. — Increasing recognition The exten- 
is being given to the importance of the extension and development ?'°" °^ ^^^ 

juvenile 
of juvenile court organization, that all children who come before the court ma- 
courts may have an equal chance. The problem for the immediate '^h'"*^'^- 
future is the working out of practical methods by which the principles 
of the juvenile court may be universally applied. . . . 

Medico-psychological work. — The importance of knowledge of the The psycho- 
child's physical and mental condition, of his home, and of his family P^^hic ele- 

•^ ment in 
and personal history is recognized as essential to successful work by juvenile 

the court, though the development of facilities for diagnosis has been ^^^^ P™" 

• From the United States Department of Labor, Children's Bureau, Courts in 
tfie United Stales Hearing Children's Cases. Washington, ig2o; pp. is-ig. 



286 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Physical 
and mental 
examination 
of the juve- 
nile offender. 



Coordina- 
tion of 
juvenile and 
family 
cases. 



Probation 
work and 
the juvenile 
court. 



Cooperating 
agencies. 



relatively slow. The Juvenile Psychopathic Institute of Chicago, 
now a part of the state-wide Juvenile Psychopathic Institute of 
Illinois, was the pioneer in the thorough-going study of children 
before the courts. . . . 

Investigation of home conditions and family and personal history 
is usually a part of the regular investigations made by the probation 
officers. Physical examinations are given much more generally than 
mental examinations. In thirteen courts mental chnics were main- 
tained as a part of the court organization. In some of these chnics the 
examinations of physical and mental conditions, and the studies of 
social histories were parts of a unified program for the diagnosis of 
the children's needs and possibiHties. Frequently the only children 
given the intensive study indicated are those presenting especially 
difficult problems, though the present feehng among many familiar 
with the work is that all children coming before the courts should 
have the benefit of such consideration. . . . 

Coordination of the trial and treatment of juvenile and family 
cases. . . . There is a movement looking toward the coordination 
of the trial and treatment of juvenile and family cases, including 
desertion and nonsupport, contributing to delinquency or dependency, 
divorce, illegitimacy cases, adoption, and guardianship. The National 
Probation Association has gone on record in favor of such consolida- 
tion of court work touching closely the family life, holding that all 
these cases should be dealt with in much the same manner as 
children's cases. . . . 

State supervision of juvenile court and probation work. — The state 
probation commissions of New York and Massachusetts have done 
notable work in supervising juvenile probation and standardizing 
and centralizing the work of the courts. In some other states there 
are supervising agencies of various types. Such activities contribute 
greatly to the extension of the juvenile court organization, the main- 
tenance of efficient probation service, the systematizing of the records, 
and the general application of the principles of the juvenile court 
movement. 

Community cooperation. — The growth of the juvenile court has 
been to a great extent dependent upon the cooperation and assistance 
of other social agencies in the community. ... In many courts a 



CRIME AND CORRECTION 287 

definite method for cooperation with the community has been de- 
veloped. Provision is made by law in a number of states for the 
establishment of county or other local boards which serve the court 
in an advisory and auxiliary capacity. ... In other states cooperat- 
ing boards have been established without special statutory provision. 
Often state boards of charities or child welfare bureaus actively co- 
operate. A number of private societies doing protective work or 
child-placing give the courts valuable assistance. 

As the work of the juvenile court develops, some of the under- Conclusion. 
lying causes and conditions of child dehnquency and neglect become 
more evident. The results of intensive studies of individual children 
have indicated the varieties of provision which must be made. The 
need for the early recognition and treatment of abnormalities in the 
child's physical, mental, or moral development has been conclusively 
demonstrated. In this field the responsibility reverts to the home, the 
school, and the other social forces of the community. The adequate 
fulfillment of these obhgations will result in the prevention of a 
considerable amount of juvenile delinquency and in the consequent 
reduction of the number of children who come before the courts. 



124. Substitutes for imprisonment^ 

When the individual has been convicted of wrong-doing, there Changing 

arises the question of what is to be done wdth him. Formerly, impris- attitude 

toward the 

onment was looked upon as the common, if not the only, method of ogender. 
disposing of the criminal. With the development of the modem 
spirit in penology, however, penologists are more and more asking 
the question. Is imprisonment necessary in this case, or might the 
reformation of the prisoner be effected more surely and more quickly 
by some other method of treatment? To-day we are making a con- 
siderable use of substitutes for imprisonment, especiaUy in the case 
of children, petty criminals, first offenders, and the mentally defective. 
The various types of treatment which may be substituted for imprison- 
ment are discussed by the late Professor Henderson in the following 
passage: 

1 From Charles Richmond Henderson, Introduction to the Study of the Dependent, 
Defective, and Delinquent Classes. D. C. Heath & Co., 1901; pp. 303-306. 



288 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Limitations 
of the 
prison. 



How the 
probation 
system 
operates. 



Use of the 
fine. 



Experience proves that, for many of the criminal class, the prison 
fails in both its main objects: it does not deter and it does not re- 
form; . . . the prison does not touch the permanent causes of crime 
which inhere in the economic conditions, the bad housing, the neglect 
of education, and the hideous squalor, filth, and misery of cities. 
The prison comes too late to touch these factors. Without going into 
general social reforms at this point, we may consider some of the 
proposed substitutes for the prison and its deprivation of hberty and 
suspension of normal habits of industrial and domestic life. 

The probation system. — The main features of this method are 
ordinary arrest, detention, investigation, and probation. Persons 
charged with drunkenness, for example, or some other offense of a 
relatively mild nature, and who are presumably not dangerous or 
habitual offenders, are temporarily placed in a house of detention. 
An officer of the court is appointed to investigate their character and 
history by inquiries in the cell and among associates and neighbors. 
The purpose of this investigation is to discover the environments, 
influences, capacity for work, and tendencies of life, and to report 
to the court. If the court finds it unsafe to give the person freedom, 
the regular course of law is followed. But if there is hope of reforma- 
tion without deprivation of liberty, the judge grants a "continuance" 
of the case pending probation; the offender is released on promise 
to maintain good conduct, and the probation officer visits him or 
her once each week and makes certain that the advice of the judge 
is followed. Industrial occupation is secured at home, or with an 
employer, or in a private institution; and a relation of friendly guid- 
ance and assistance is maintained. Thus an offender may be reformed, 
or prevented from becoming a habitual criminal, by personal influence 
and help, without losing time from employment, without being cut 
off from family and friends, and without incurring the reputation 
of a "jail-bird." 

Fines. — It has been found possible to substitute fines for imprison- 
ment in many cases, where the offense is not serious and the security 
for payment is ample. Judges in states which give the option gen- 
erally prefer to inflict fines, if this way is open to them. In cities there 
are great abuses, but this is no objection to the principle. . . . 
Professional and dangerous criminals should always be imprisoned 



CRIME AND CORRECTION 289 

without giving their comrades the power to set them free by 
paying a fine. . . . 

Colonies. — For vagrant, feeble-minded, futile, mendicant, and The use of 
semi-criminal persons, it seems desirable to estabUsh voluntary and ^^^'^J^)^^ 'O"" 
also compulsory agricJtural colonies. Where men are wiUing to classes, 
submit themselves to control voluntarily and to accept discipUne 
and training for industry, it may be sufficient to provide colonies 
on the German plan, without restrictions as to coming and going. 
But for those who are lawless and criminal such colonies of training 
must be compulsory, since such men will neither accept discipUne 
which is good for them nor continue under it. Drunkards should 
be provided for in special hospital asylums, under long sentences 
of three or four years, and kept at work in the open air as much as 
the cUmate will permit. . . . 

125. The functions of the psychopathic expert ^ 

The recent development of medicine and psychology has exerted Effect of 

a marked influence upon our treatment of the so-called criminal ^^^ develop- 

^ ment of 

classes. The application of psychological and pathological tests medicine 

to certain types of offenders has encouraged the beUef that a large psychol- 

■' ^ . ^Sy upon 

proportion of offenders are mentally or physically defective, and that penology, 
nothing is to be gained by treating such individuals as normal and 
responsible persons. Criminal psychopathology is still in its infancy, 
but it has progressed suflficiently to demonstrate the value of sub- 
jecting offenders to thorough mental and physical tests. On the 
basis of these tests, an intelligent and constructive disposal of each 
individual may be made. Some of the functions of the psychopathic 
expert are described in the following extract from a bulletin of the 
Psychopathic Department of the Chicago House of Correction: 

All of those between the ages of 17 and 21 who are sentenced to Psycho- 
House of Correction are subject to call for psychological diagnosis. ^^^^'^^\ ^'^s- 

■" f J r, o ^ nosis in the 

Of these there are a number who are recommended to the Psychopathic Chicago 

Department by the Boys' Court. To this group special attention is 
paid. Whenever the above list is exhausted, older inmates, par- 
ticularly recidivists, are interviewed. . . . 

' From the Chicago House of Correction, Research Department, Bulletin No. i. 
Chicago, July, 1915; pp. 4-7. 



House of 
Correction. 



290 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Attitude of 
the inmates. 



Type of 
questions 
asked the 
inmate. 



Mental 
tests are 
next em- 
ployed. 



Acting upon 
the results. 



[In coming into the psychopathic laboratory,] the inmate knows 
he has nothing to lose and everything to gain. We have consequently 
had no difficulty at all; in fact, men have come entirely of their own 
vohtion to see what we could do for them after having reahzed that 
they were somewhere out of gear. Many have anxiously come to see 
what we could do to help them keep out of further difficulty. . . . 

The interview is begun with questions regarding his school and 
trade training, his industrial history, the positions he has held, 
etc. . . . We then obtain a full and detailed account of the criminal 
career of the individual from the day he first found himself in diffi- 
culty. Any past sicknesses, accidents and diseases are noted. In- 
quiry is made of any past examinations, mental, physical or both. 
The subject is then questioned regarding his father, mother, siblings 
and other relatives, the same information being elicited regarding 
them as was obtained from him personally. We often uncover a 
neuropathic family, of which this member is but one out of a number 
of others who are not only potentially a danger and menace to the 
community, but have already made society pay dearly for their having 
been at large. . . . 

With this personal-industrial-sociological-family history, more or 
less complete, we pass on to our mental tests. [We use a number 
of tests, including a] test for audition (watch) ; a test with the dyna- 
mometer for obtaining the fatigue index described in Whipple's 
Manual, supplemented by our formula for an index of the subject's 
ability to perform purely physical labor; the tests for height, standing 
and sitting, weight, strength of grip and vital capacity, besides some 
of our own tests for ethical development. These are gradually being 
supplemented, and in the near future we plan to add tests of ability 
to learn in relation to forgetting and to re-adaptation, among 
others. . . . 

On the basis of the information obtained a report on each in- 
dividual case is made and the record placed in the hands of the 
Superintendent, who acts upon the recommendations. As a result 
of the examination, any of these three courses may be followed, 
depending upon general conditions: (a) the inmate may be placed 
in a special class for mental defectives; or, (b) he may be placed 
at work that will benefit him most, work that will give him the 



CRIME AND CORRECTION 291 

training and experience necessary to gain him entry into that in- 
dustry after his release; or (c) he may be merely placed at ordinary 
labor on the grounds. . . . 



126. Principles of reformation ^ 

The development of modem penology in the United States has The influ- 



ence of 
Frederick 



been due, not so much to a widespread recognition of constructive 
principles, as to the talent and energy of a few men. Of these none Howard 
is better known, and none more generally recognized as a sound and W'n<^s- 
progressive student of prison administration, than Dr. Frederick 
Howard Wines. In 1870 a National Prison Congress met at Cin- 
cinnati, Ohio, and adopted a declaration of principles of reformation 
which had been formulated by Dr. Wines. These principles, though 
adopted a half century ago, are still the foundation for prison work 
in this country, and as such are generally recognized. Some of the 
more significant of these principles foUow: 

I. Crime is an intentional violation of duties imposed by law, Crime de- 
which inflicts an injury upon others. ... ^^ ' 

II. The treatment of criminals by society is for the protection of Object in 

society. But since such treatment is directed to the criminal rather *^^f^*^'"S 
■' crime. 

than to the crime, its great object should be his moral regeneration. 
Hence the supreme aim of prison discipline is the reformation of 
criminals, not the infliction of vindictive suffering. 

III. The progressive classification of prisoners, based on character The mark 
and worked on some well-adjusted mark system, should be estabUshed ^^^tem de- 
in all prisons above the common jail. 

IV. Since hope is a more potent agent than fear, it should be The use of 
made an ever-present force in the minds of prisoners, by a well-devised ^'^^^'''^s- 
and skilfully applied system of rewards for good conduct, industry 

and attention to learning. Rewards, more than punishments, are 
essential to every good prison syste'm. 

V. The prisoner's destiny should be placed, measurably, in his The role of 

own hands; he must be put into circumstances where he will be p^ s*^"" 
^ mterest. 

able, through his own exertions, to better continually his own con- 

' From the National Prison Congress, Declaration of Principles Promulgated at 
Cincinnati. 1870. 



292 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



The indeter- 
minate sen- 
tence. 



Importance 
of religion 

and educa- 
tion. 



Necessity of 
a harmony 
of wills 



The pre- 
vention of 
crime. 



Society's 
duty to the 
discharged 
prisoner. 



dition. A regulated self-interest must be brought into play, and made 
constantly operative. 

VIII. Peremptory sentences ought to be replaced by those of 
indeterminate length. Sentences Umited only by satisfactory proof 
of reformation should be substituted for those measured by mere 
lapse of time. 

IX. Of all reformatory agencies, reUgion is first in importance, 
because most potent in its action upon the human heart and life. 

X. Education is a vital force in the reformation of fallen men and 
women. Its tendency is to quicken the intellect, inspire self-respect, 
excite to higher aims, and afford a healthful substitute for low and 
vicious amusements. . . . 

XII. A system of prison discipHne, to be truly reformatory, 
must gain the will of the convict. He is to be amended; but how is 
this possible with his mind in a state of hostihty? No system can 
hope to succeed which does not secure this harmony of wills, so that 
the prisoner shall choose for himself what his officer chooses for him. 
But, to this end, the officer must really choose the good of the prisoner, 
and the prisoner must remain in his choice long enough for virtue 
to become a habit. This consent of wills is an essential condition 
of reformation. . . . 

XX. It is the judgment of the congress, that repeated short 
sentences for minor criminals are worse than useless; that, in fact, 
they rather stimulate than repress transgression. Reformation is 
a work of time; and a benevolent regard to the good of the criminal 
himself, as well as to the protection of society, requires that his 
sentence be long enough for reformatory processes to take effect. 

XXI. Preventive institutions, such as truant homes, industrial 
schools, etc., for the reception and treatment of children not yet crimi- 
nal but in danger of becoming so, constitute the true field of promise 
in which to labor for the repression of crime. 

XXII. More systematic and comprehensive methods should be 
adopted to save discharged prisoners, by providing them with work 
and encouraging them to redeem their character and regain their 
lost position in society. The state has not discharged its whole duty 
to the criminal when it has punished him, nor even when it has re- 
formed him. Having raised him up, it has the further duty to aid 



CRIME AND CORRECTION 293 

in holding him up. And to this end it is desirable that state societies 
be formed, which shall cooperate with each other in this work. . . . 



Questions on the foregoing Readings 

1. What, in the opinion of Chief Justice Taft, is the most serious 

defect in American government? 

2. Compare criminal procedure in England with criminal procedure 

in this country. 

3. What, according to Chief Justice Taft, is the reason why the 

administration of justice is more effective in England than in 
the United States? 

4. How may a wealthy criminal secure the postponement of his 

trial, or even escape punishment altogether? 

5. What evil in criminal procedure is connected with the choice of 

jurors? 

6. What can be said as to the abuse of the right of appeal in criminal 

trials in the United States? 

7. When did the public defender movement begin? 

8. What is the purpose of the public defender movement? 

g. How does the public defender help to prevent unjust convictions? 

10. What can be said as to the cost to the state of a public defender? 

11. Illustrate the statement that the public defender sav^es time in 

criminal trials. 

12. Why was the juvenile court developed? 

13. What is the relation of medico-psychological work to the juvenile 

court movement? 

14. With what type of cases might juvenile cases well be coordinated? 

15. What is the relation of community cooperation to the juvenile 

court? 

16. Professor Henderson says that for many of the criminal class, 

the prison fails in two important objects. What are these two 
objects of the prison? 

17. Explain the operation of the probation system. 

18. For what type of delinquents are colonies advisable? 

19. What effect has the development of medicine and psychology 

had upon our treatment of the offender? 

20. Outline the nature of the tests to which inmates of the Chicago 

House of Correction are subjected by the psychopathic experts 
of that institution. 

21. What three courses may be followed by the authorities, as the 

result of these tests? 



294 READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 

2 2. What is the importance of Frederick Howard Wines in the history 
of American penology? 

23. Outline some of the principles adopted by the National Prison 

Congress, held at Cincinnati in 1870. 

24. What did the congress say as to the " true field of promise in 

which to labor for the repression of crime "? 

25. What did the congress conclude as to society's attitude toward 

the discharged prisoner? 



CHAPTER XXII 
THE NEGRO 

127. Occupations of the American Negro ^ 

There has long been a feeUng among students of the problem that Economic 
the improvement of the economic status of our colored population is ^^^^^ ° • 
one of the most fruitful ways of aiding in the adjustment of this group, can Negro. 
Industrially the Negro has made marked progress since the days of 
slavery, and yet it remains true that to-day the masses of American 
Negroes are unskilled workers, and perilously near the poverty hne. 
The occupations of American Negroes, and their need of industrial 
education, are the subject of the following extract from a 1917 re- 
port of the United States Bureau of Education in the Department of 
the Interior: 

The moral and pohtical condition of any people is closely related The Negroes 
to their economic condition. Though the Negroes have made strik- ^^^ ^ 

progress, 

ing progress in the acquisition of property, they are still a poor people, but are still 
They are as yet "hewers of wood and drawers of water." According ^ ^°'^ 
to the United States Census, a larger percentage of colored women 
and children are breadwinners tha,n of any other group. While this 
fact indicates that a commendable percentage of the race is gainfully 
employed, it suggests the necessity of elevating the economic status 
of the group so that the children may attend school and the women 
may have a better opportunity to care for the morals and hygiene 
of the home. The comparatively low economic status of the race . 
is further shown in the following table by the large proportion of all 
Negro breadwinners who are laborers, and the comparatively small 
numbers who are in the skilled and professional classes: 

1 From the United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Education. 
Bulletin, 1916, No. 38. "Negro Education." Washington, 1917. Vol. i, pp. 84-85. 

295 



ig6 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Occupations 
of Negro 
males in 

IQIO. 



Principal Occupations or Negroes — 1910 
Occupations of Males 



Occupations 



Number 



Occupations 



Number 



Total breadwinners 3,178,554 

Farm laborers 981,922 

Farmers 798,509 

Laborers, building trades . 166,374 

Laborers, sawmills 91,181 

Laborers, railroads 86,380 

Porters, not in stores. ... 51,471 

Draymen and teamsters. 50,689 

Coal-mine operatives ... . 39,530 

Laborers, in stores 36,906 

Waiters 35,664 

Laborers, road building . . 33,914 

Cooks 32,453 

Deliverymen, stores 30,511 

Carpenters 30,464 

Janitors and sextons 22,419 

Barbers and hairdressers. 19,446 

Retail dealers 17,659 

Clergymen 17,427 

Longshoremen, stevedores 16,379 

Laborers, brick factories. 15,792 

Firemen, stationary 14,927 

Lumbermen and raftsmen 14,005 

Laborers, blast furnaces . . 13,519 

Hostlers, stable hands. . . 12,965 

Laborers, public service . . 12,767 

Brick and stone masons . . 12,401 



Garden laborers 11,801 

Laborers, domestic .... 10,380 

Blacksmiths 9,835 

Painters and glaziers.. . 8,915 

Messenger boys 8,262 

Coachmen and footmen 7,679 

Elevator tenders 6,276 

Plasterers. 6,175 

Clerks, not in stores. . . 6,077 

Firemen, locomotive. . . 5, 188 

Engineers, stationary. . 4,802 

Brakemen, locomotive. . 4,719 

Chauffeurs 4,674 

Tailors 4,652 

Soldiers and sailors. ... 3,734 

Shoemakers 3,695 

Restaurant keepers. . . . 3,635 

Cleaners, clothing 3,385 

Builders 3,272 

Furnace and smelter 

men 3,203 

Sawyers 3,iSi 

Mail carriers 2,756 

Physicians and surgeons 2,744 

Clerks in stores 2,582 

Plumbers, steamfitters. . 2,285 

All other occupations. . 385,211 



Occupations 
of Negro 
females in 
1910. 



Occupations of Females 



Occupations 



Number 



Occupations 



Number 



Total breadwinners 2,013,981 

Farm laborers 967,837 

Laundresses not in laun- 
dry 361,551 



Cooks 205,939 

Farmers 79,309 

Dressmakers and seam- 
stresses 38,148 



THE NEGRO 

Occupations of Females — conl. 



297 



Occupations 



Number 



Occupations 



Number 



School-teachers 22,441 

Nurses (not trained) 17,874 

Chambermaids 14,071 

Laundry operatives 12,196 

Housekeepers 10,021 

Boarding-housekeepers.. 9,183 
Cigar and tobacco 

workers 8,267 

Waiters 7,434 



Charwomen and clean- 
ers 7,026 

Building trades 6,174 

Hairdressers 3,782 

Retail dealers 2,994 

Restaurant keepers. . . . 2,734 

Musicians and teachers. 2,347 

Trained nurses 2,158 

All other occupations.. 232,495 



According to this table, the only groups forming a substantial Importance 

proportion of all Negro breadwinners are the laborers, farmers, and , ^"°V*t" 
'^ '^ " education 

laundresses. Other than farmers, no skilled or professional group for the 
forms even i per cent of the total. Under a liberal interpretation ^^sro. 
of terms, the number in these classes is only about 250,000 or 5 per 
cent of the total. It is apparent, therefore, that the possibiUties of 
the race in skilled occupations have just begun. In view of the in- 
creasing demand of the southern states for skilled workmen, it is 
vitally important to the colored people that they grasp every oppor- 
tunity for industrial education. . . . 



128. Educational needs of the Negro ^ 

There can be no doubt but that a larger share of industrial education 
would prove of great benefit to our colored citizens. But, while 
very important, industrial education is only one phase of the general 
problem of Negro education. The American Negro must be fitted 
not only for industrial, but as well for social, intellectual and rehgious 
progress. In the following selection, the United States Bureau of 
Education in the Department of the Interior outlines the general 
educational needs of the Negro: 

The general poverty of colored schools, the conflicting claims of 
various types of education, and the pubHc ignorance of the real situa- 



* From the United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Education. 
Bulletin, igi6, No. 38. "Negro Education." Washington, 1917. Vol. i, pp. 11-13. 



Industrial 
education 
only one 
phase of 
the general 
problem of 
Negro edu- 
cation. 



Educational 
needs of 
the Negro, 



298 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



with respect 
to elemen- 
tary educa- 
tion. 



secondary 
schools and 
teacher 
training, 



higher edu- 
cation. 



tion, all point to the importance of a statement of the educational 
needs of colored people. The following outline ... is offered as 
a suggestion to those whose duty it is to determine the educational 
poHcies for colored schools: 

, Elementary schools. — Elementary education is peculiarly the 
responsibility of the public-school authorities. Though the enroll- 
ment of the philanthropic schools is 75 per cent elementary, the pupils 
comprise only 4 per cent of the Negro children 6 to 14 years of age. 
The southern states, out of their limited resources, are spending 
almost $6,000,000 annually for the salaries of teachers in the colored 
pubHc schools. While this is proportionately not more than a fourth 
of that spent on teachers in white schools, it is a substantial sxmi. 
In comparison with the needs of the elementary school system, how- 
ever, it is most inadequate. So long as the elementary school facilities 
are insufficient, every kind of education above the elementary grades 
is seriously handicapped. . . . 

Secondary schools and teacher training. — The primary importance 
of secondary schools for colored people lies in their contribution 
to the much needed supply of trained teachers for the elementary 
schools. According to the state records over 50 per cent of the colored 
teachers in pubHc schools have an education less than the equivalent 
of six elementary grades. This lamentable condition can be cor- 
rected only by a system of pubKc secondary schools with provision 
for teacher training, theory and practice of gardening, and manual 
training. . . . 

College and professional education. — The education of Negroes 
in America undoubtedly requires institutions that are genuinely 
of college grade. The first step in the reaUzation of this need is 
the agreement that all shall combine in an effort to develop a few 
well-selected institutions. . . . The second requirement of success 
in this direction is the determination that every college activity 
shall be adapted to the demands of modern society. Medical educa- 
tion is already centraHzed in two institutions. It is highly desirable 
that some cooperative effort shall also be made to improve the stand- 
ards of schools for colored ministers. No phase of Negro education 
has been more neglected. 

Agricultural and mechanical schools. — The importance of the 



THE NEGRO 299 

preparation of colored youth for the industries and for hfe in rural training in 
communities is self-evident. In view of the overwhelming propor- ^ aKruul- 
tion of Negroes in rural districts, the claims of rural education pre- mechanical 
cede all others. While opportunities for the highly-technical trades i"<^"stries, 
should be open to colored pupils, the primary need is emphatically 
for a knowledge of gardening, small farming, and the simple in- 
dustries. . . . 

Teaching methods. — Elaborate facilities are useless if the teaching and meth- 

methods are ineffective. In actual practice teaching is still too ^dsof 

teaching, 
generally regarded as talking or lecturing. . . . The teacher should 

make every effort to understand the pupil and his needs, his mind 
processes, his ambitions, his means of support, and his health. He 
should also know the pupil's home, his community, and, if possible, 
his vocational outlook. With such knowledge as the basis of in- 
struction, the teacher will not be content with mere lectures to his 
class. From talking about the subject, he will guide his pupils to 
observe actual conditions. . . . The teacher will exchange views 
with pupils and all will mingle their ideas and their experiences in 
the search for truth. From the artificial conditions of the class 
room, pupils and teacher will finally proceed to the actual conditions 
of real life and together they will "learn to do by doing." 



129. Statutory protection of the Negro ^ 

The period following the Civil War has witnessed the develop- Develop- 
ment of numerous laws defining the position and rights of the Negro. |"^P| °: 
This legislation is of two types: the first type includes laws which affecting 
restrict the activities of the Negro; the second type includes laws *"^ Negro. 
which aim to protect him. Among laws grouped under this second 
type of legislation, the most important statutes have been those 
which aim to protect the Negro with respect to civil rights, educa- 
tion, and transportation. Something of the nature of protective leg- 
islation for the Negro may be illustrated by the following selection 
by Dr. Franklin Johnson, in which he discusses laws to protect 
Negroes in the enjoyment of places of public resort : 

1 From Franklin Johnson, The Development of Slate Legislation Concerning the 
Free Negro. The Arbor Press, New York, 1918; pp. 28-30. 



300 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Beginnings 
of legisla- 
tion to pro- 
tect the Ne- 
gro in the 
enjoyment 
of places of 
public resort. 

Civil 
rights 
statutes in 
the South. 



Further leg- 
islation in 
the North. 



The Federal 
Civil 

Rights Act 
of 1875. 



[The first act to provide for protection of the colored race in en- 
joyment of the accommodations of places of public resort] appeared 
in Massachusetts in a statute of 1865. This provided simply that no 
distinction or discrimination on account of race should be lawful in 
any licensed inn, pubhc place of amusement, pubHc conveyance, 
or pubhc meeting. . . . 

During the Reconstruction period of the southern states, a num- 
ber of such states enacted civil rights laws, which were very full 
and stringent in their terms. South Carolina was the first state so to 
provide, being followed by Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Florida, and 
Mississippi. . . . The longest and most stringent of these acts was 
that of Arkansas. All of these southern civil rights statutes 
were repealed either by special enactment to that effect or by omis- 
sion from the revised statutes of their states after the end of the 
Reconstruction period, except such as were found not to be incon- 
sistent with the trend of later legislation, through later interpre- 
tation of their precise terms. 

There was no further legislation in the northern states upon 
this subject until 1873, when New York adopted a civil rights act 
somewhat similar to that of Massachusetts, but in a fuller and more 
developed form. The next provision was in New York again, in 
1 88 1, which substantially reenacted the earUer provision, and pro- 
hibited discrimination in the enjoyment of the accommodations 
of taverns, pubhc conveyances, and places of public resort or amuse- 
ment, because of race, creed or color. 

Between these two laws, however, came the Federal Act of 1875, 
known as the Civil Rights Act of that year. This followed in general 
terms the provisions of the Massachusetts and the New York stat- 
utes. ... It then provided that all persons should be entitled to full 
and equal enjoyment of the accommodations and privileges of inns, 
public conveyances on land and water, theatres, and other places 
of pubhc amusement, subject only to conditions appUcable aUke 
to citizens of every race. The penalty for violation of this law was 
both a forfeiture to the person aggrieved and fine or imprisonment 
for the violator. . . . 

This law did not accomplish its purpose, for after its passage 
Negroes stiU continued to be excluded from places of pubhc resort. 



THE NEGRO 30 1 

This resulted in a number of cases appearing in the courts, finally Testing the 
culminating in the so-called civil rights cases, which were passed constitution- 
upon by the United States Supreme Court in 1883. These cases statute. 
arose in Missouri and Tennessee in the South, and New York, Kansas 
and CaUfornia in the North, and were brought for denying to Negroes 
the accommodations of hotels, theatres and railroads. ... By a di- 
vided vote the Supreme Court held that the law of 1875, in so far 
as it apphed to the right of accommodation of the colored race in 
places of pubHc resort, was unconstitutional and therefore void. . . . 

This decision rendered it impossible for Congress to pass any Efiect of 
general enactment prohibiting the passage of laws by individual the attitude 
states concerning the separation of Negroes in places of pubUc resort. Supreme 
No further legislation of this nature therefore appeared among the ^ V'^* y?°" 
Federal statutes. All further legislation in this portion of the field islation, and 
was thereby thrown into the jurisdiction of the separate states. 

This did not greatly affect legislation appearing in the southern upon legis- 

states, for the reason that separation in places of pubHc resort in ^^^lon by 

southern 

most cases already existed and was enforced by the power of custom 
and the influence of the white race. It was followed, however, by 
enactments requiring separation in railroad transportation. . . . 

The efiect in the northern states was quite different. These states, and north- 
finding that the Negro was no longer protected in this portion of ^™ ^^^^^ 
the field of his civil rights by Federal legislation, proceeded to enact 
separate state laws covering the same ground in general. The year 
following the Supreme Court decision, four states passed such stat- 
utes, being followed successively by a large number of others. Civil 
rights laws have been enacted by the following states: California, 
Colorado, Connecticut, IlUnois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Massachu- 
setts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, 
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin. . . . 



130. A new Negro problem: migration^ 

In the South, emancipation was followed by a more or less seri- 
ous disruption of numerous Negro communities. One effect of 

* From The United States Bureau of Labor, Division of Negro Economics, 
Negro Migration in IQT6-IQ17. Washington, igig; pp. 149, 152-155. 



302 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Growing 
importance 
of the Ne- 
gro's tend- 
ency to 
migrate 
cityward. 



Significance 
of Negro 
migration to 
the North. 



Organiza- 
tions which 
aim to help 
the Negro in 
adjusting 
himself to 
life in the 
North. 



The develop- 
ment of a 
community 
viewpoint. 



Reception 
of the new- 
comers. 



this disruption has been to encourage the migratory instinct among 
our Negro population. However, migration did not attract national 
attention until the period of the World War, when the movement 
of southern Negroes toward the cities of the South, and particularly 
toward the cities of the North, was so marked as to create what 
may be called a new Negro problem. In the following extract from 
a report by the Division of Negro Economics in the United States 
Department of Labor, are outUned some of the constructive efforts 
toward the adjustment of the migrant Negro: 

Another great mass movement of population has been under way. 
The Negro migrant has been the pawn in a tremendous transition. 
Leaving the relatively fixed social system of the South suddenly 
and in numbers, he has been compelled to adjust himself to radically 
different conditions of work and hfe in the crowded northern 
centers. . . . 

From the standpoint of the development of a rounded construc- 
tive program to lessen the costs of the migration the most interesting 
fact is that in the last year the National League on Urban Condi- 
tions Among Negroes . . . has estabHshed a score of branches 
in as many cities. . . . 

In Ohio a Federation for Service Among Colored People was formed 
in July, 191 7, with representation in most industrial communities 
of the state. It has appointed working subcommittees on housing, 
labor, health, and crime and welfare work. . . . 

Here and there a community viewpoint is fast developing. The 
public-health function of northern cities is in process of rapid ex- 
pansion, and the departments of health are beginning to undertake 
constructive work. In Philadelphia, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh 
the departments were burdened by the migration in vaccinating 
the newcomers, preventing smallpox epidemics, and in enforcing 
sanitary regulations in lodging places and camps. Many industries 
employing Negroes have introduced physical examinations. . . . 

With regard to cordial reception of the newcomers and the organ- 
ization of their leisure time so Httle effective work has so far been 
done that dehnquency, drunkenness, and vice, as well as industrial 
inefficiency, have taken frightful toll. . . . The pitiful straits of 
many of the newcomers were met in part by the provisions of tern- 



THE NEGRO 303 

porary quarters by the Travelers' Aid and similar societies, as in 
Philadelphia and Chicago, and direction to decent lodging and board- 
ing places by local leagues. In Cincinnati the Park Street Newcomers' 
ReHef Home was established. In Pittsburgh a colored mission 
using an old church in the Negro quarter served this need. It is 
essential to emphasize the fact that the colored churches have done 
almost the only extensively organized work for the welfare of the 
newcomers. . . . 

The Urban League program includes organization of the recrea- Recreation 
tion faciUties among the colored people to counteract the influence facilities, 
of the saloon and gambHng. In Detroit the use of a pubHc-school 
building for two nights a week and a pubUc high- school building for 
one evening weekly was secured. ... In Philadelphia also, as in 
Louisville in the South, a migration committee secured the use of 
public schools for recreation purposes. . . . 

The intelligent Negro has long believed that his only escape from Causes of 
the measures of suppression which still exist is to go to the North, |P^ migra- 
and he has seized the opportunity whenever it was presented to him. southern 
The present unprecedented influx of black workers from the South J^^^^^^ [° 
is merely the result of a sudden expansion of opportunity, due to 
a war-depleted labor market in the North. But basic causes for 
his migration are inherent in the social and economic system which 
has retarded his progress for years. The Negro is beginning to 
appreciate his own value and duties and is proceeding to the North, 
where he feels he can enjoy a fuller measure of justice. This natu- 
rally means a tremendous problem for the North. The race question 
is no longer confined to the states below the Mason and Dixon 
line, but is the concern of the whole nation. . . . 

131. Inter-racial cooperation ^ 

Of recent years, the conviction has gained ground that the prob- increasing 
lems of the Negro will never be solved without friendly, intelligent, ""Portance 

° -^ ' ° ' of coopera- 

and consistent cooperation between the white and Negro races, tion be- 
There is an increasing number of organizations which embody the ^^^^'^ ^ ^ 

1 From Oswald Garrison Villard, "The Objects of the National Association Negro races, 
for the Advancement of Colored People." Address delivered before the Fourth 
Annual Conference of the Association, Chicago, igi2. 



304 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



The object 
of the Asso- 
ciation. 



Some things 
the Associa- 
tion does 
not ask. 



Opposition 
to the Asso- 
ciation. 



Many be- 
lieve the 
Association 
too radical. 



principle of inter-racial cooperation. One of the most important, 
although perhaps conceived in too mihtant a spirit to accomplish 
the greatest good, is the National Association for the Advancement 
of Colored People. This organization, including prominent mem- 
bers of both races, was formed in 1909. In the following passage 
the objects of this association are explained by Oswald Garrison 
Villard: 

The objects of the National Association for the Advancement 
of Colored People may be put into a single sentence: This society 
exists in order to combat the spirit of persecution and prejudice 
which confronts the colored people of this land, and to assure to 
them every right, privilege and opportunity to which every citizen 
of the United States is entitled. That it exists at all is in itself an 
indictment of our American democracy. For it asks no favors, no 
privileges, no special advantages or benefits for those disadvan- 
taged ones, whose fathers and mothers but fifty years ago to-day 
were still being sold upon the auction block as so much hve stock. 

It does not, of course, ask that financial reparation be made to 
them for what their race suffered under the monstrous aggregation 
of wrongdoing which went by the name of slavery; the colored 
people themselves never demanded any such damages in the courts 
of law, or of public opinion. It does not even ask special indulgence 
for any of their shortcomings or beg for them unusual economic 
and educational opportunities because of their disadvantages and 
their frightftil inheritance of vice and ignorance which was the chief 
bequest of slavery. It merely asks equality of opportunity, equahty 
at the ballot box, equality in the courts of the land. 

Surely this is a simple enough platform — a reasonable enough 
demand. Theoretically, all but those most imbued with race prej- 
udice grant the justness of our contentions. . . . And yet there are 
many persons interested in the welfare of the Negro who look with 
suspicion upon our simple platform and hold aloof from our 
work. . . . 

There are, for instance, those prominent in the educational work 
among the Negroes of the South, both white and black, who feel that 
it is a mistake to dwell upon injuries and wrongs, outrages and 
persecution, because, in their belief, the cure can only come through 



THE NEGRO 305 

the slow education of all the people, and with the lapse of an in- 
definite amount of time. . . . This association they deem too 
radical. . . . They look with ill- concealed uneasiness upon those 
who would make each single wrongdoing as a fire bell in the night 
to alarm the conscience of the people. Their duty as they see it 
is to service, but not to protect ; to sit silent if need be in the pres- 
ence of sin, with their eyes fixed only upon the numerous and en- 
couraging signs that this repubUc will in the long run not tolerate 
injustice against a class or race among its citizens. 

For this opinion, honestly held, particularly when advocated by Attitude of 

those in the educational field, one can have the fullest respect if ]^^ Associa- 
tion toward 
it is consistently adhered to, but that is not the poUcy of this as- the wrongs 

sociation. It is not content to sit idly by and see wrong done, even ^"^ ^"^ 
though certain at heart that in the long run righteousness will pre- 
vail, that the mills of the gods grind exceedingly fine, however 
slowly. ... It is not for us to compromise, however much others 
may feel the necessity of doing so. It is not for us to withhold our 
scorn and indignation when we see colored men and women outraged, 
robbed, maimed or burned in Pennsylvania or in Illinois, in Mis- 
sissippi or in Georgia. On the contrary, it is our duty to speak 
out that everyone may know and hear. . . . 

132. A charge to Negro boys and girls ^ 

The remark is commonly heard that "the future of the American The influ- 

Negro rests in his own hands." This statement needs qualification, <^nce of per- 
sonal ideals 
for the most helpful efforts of the Negro might be thwarted by ad- upon the 

verse circumstances, or by an unfriendly attitude on the part of Negro prob- 
the white population. Nevertheless, it is true that a powerful factor 
in solving the problems of the Negro is the attitude of the colored 
people themselves. The leaders of the colored race reaHze this, 
and are accordingly devoting more and more attention to the ideals 
which young Negroes acquire. A splendid charge to Negro boys 
and girls was delivered by Robert Moton at the Tuskegee Com- 
mencement exercises, in May, 1912. Mr. Moton, a colored man, 
and now principal of Tuskegee Institute, spoke in part as follows: 

1 From Robert Moton, "Address Delivered at the Commencement Exercises 
at Tuskegee Institute," May, 1912. 



3o6 



REAiDINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



The present 

situation 

and 



the prob- 
lem. 



Three 
virtues: 



simplicity, 



self-respect, 



You and I belong to an undeveloped, backward race that is rarely 
for its own sake taken into account in the adjustment of man's 
relation to man, but is considered largely with reference to the im- 
pression which it makes upon the dominant Anglo-Saxon. . . . 

The question that the American nation must face, and which the 
Negro as a part of the nation should soberly and dispassionately 
consider, is the mutual, social, civic, and industrial adjustment upon 
common ground of two races, differing widely in characteristics 
and diverse in physical peculiarities, but aHke suspicious and alike 
jealous. ... 

May I briefly remind you of three very commonplace virtues 
that may perhaps help you as you enter a broader, and, I hope, more 
useful Hfe. 

Be simple. — SimpHcity is a quality that is hardly likely to 'be 
overworked; certainly it is a very safe and sane side on which you 
may profitably err. It is charged that the educated Negro is greatly 
inclined toward the superficial and showy, that he is much given 
to "putting on airs." Don't be afraid or ashamed to be even crit- 
icized because of natural unaffectedness, of extreme simplicity in 
dress, in speech, in conduct, and in character. . . . 

As I understand this institution, the object has not been to make 
of you mere farmers and mechanics, nor yet cooks and dressmakers. 
It has not even tried to make mere teachers and preachers, although 
it has accomphshed that task most effectively; but these vocations, 
however well they may have been learned, are subsidiary to the 
great object that lies at the base of Tuskegee Institute. It has 
tried, and I hope it has succeeded, in making of you men and women 
with strong, robust, generous, courageous, simple, Christ-Hke char- 
acters; that, my friends, is the "bed-rock" upon which this insti- 
tution was founded and upon which it stands. . . . 

Be self-respecting. — I want to ask you young people always to 
keep your self-respect. Self-respect does not mean fawning, cring- 
ing, or truckling. . . . You will be careful, I am sure, not to confuse 
self-respect with self-conceit; they are soijietimes woefully mixed 
and even by educated Negroes, that is, Negroes who have received 
diplomas from reputable institutions. 

I am not unmindful of the conditions under which we live. It 



THE NEGRO 307 

is very easy for a race to accept the valuation which others set upon 
it . . . but there is no excuse for your going through the world 
with a sort of self-depreciatory demeanor as if you owed the rest 
of mankind an apology for existing. . . . Remember also that though 
a Negro, and black, and though belonging to a backward and some- 
what undeveloped race, God meant that you should be as honest, 
as industrious, as law-abiding, as intelligent, as cultivated, as poUte, 
as pure, as Christ-like, and as godly as any human being that walks 
on the face of God's green earth. 

Keep your courage. — There is no reason why any Negro should and cour- 
become discouraged or morbid. We beheve in God. His providence ^^^" 
is mysterious and inscrutable; but His ways are just and righteous 
altogether. Suffering and disappointment have always found their 
place in the divine economy. . . . The black man has not as yet 
thoroughly learned to have the respect for his race that is so neces- 
sary to the making of a great people. I believe the woes that God 
has sent him are but the fiery furnace through which he is passing, 
that is separating the dross from the pure gold and is welding the 
Negroes together as a great people for a great purpose. 

There is every reason for optimism, hopefulness. The outlook The goal, 
was never more encouraging than to-day. The Negro never had 
more the respect and confidence of his neighbors, black and white, 
than he has to-day. Neither has he because of real worth deserved 
that respect more than he does to-day. . . . The race problem in 
this country, I repeat, is simply a part of the problem of hfe. . . . 
Race prejudice is as much a fact as the law of gravitation and it 
is as fooHsh to ignore the operation of one as of the other. Mournful 
complaint and arrogant criticism are as useless as the crying of a 
baby against the fury of a great wind. The path of moral progress, 
remember, has never taken a straight Hne, but I beheve that unless 
democracy is a failure and Christianity a mockery, it is entirely 
feasible and practicable for the black and white races of America 
to develop side by side, in peace, in harmony, and in mutual help- 
fulness each toward the other; living together as "brothers in 
Christ without being brothers-in-law, " each making its contributions 
to the wealth and culture of our beloved country. . . . 



3o8 READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 

Questions on the foregoing Readings 

1. Compare colored women and children with other groups of the 

population with respect to the percentage which are bread- 
winners. 

2. In what way is the high percentage of gainfully employed colored 

women and children an undesirable development? 

3. Compare the total number of Negro male breadwinners in 1910 

with the number of Negro females gainfully employed in 1910. 

4. Name some occupations in which Negroes are relatively numerous. 

5. What per cent of Negro breadwinners is included in the skilled 

or professional groups? 

6. What are the educational needs of the Negro with respect to 

elementary school education? 

7. Outline the educational needs of the Negro with regard to secondary 

schools. 

8. What is the first step in improving the condition of Negro colleges? 

9. What can be said as to the Negro's needs with respect to agri- 

cultural and mechanical schools? 

10. What should be the ideals of the teacher in Negro schools? 

11. Into what two types may we divide legislation defining the position 

and rights of the Negro? 

12. Outline the early development of laws to provide for the pro- 

tection of Negroes in the enjoyment of places of public resort. 

13. Outline the Federal Civil Rights Act of 1875. 

14. What was the attitude of the Supreme Court toward this act? 

What was the effect of this attitude upon further state legis- 
lation? 

15. When did Negro migration become a serious problem? 

16. What is the significance of the Negro migration to the North? 

17. Outline some constructive efforts to cope with the problems arising 

out of this migration. 

18. Discuss the causes of the migration to the North. 

19. What is the object of the National Association for the Advance- 

ment of Colored People? 

20. Outline the viewpoint of those who believe the association is too 

radical. 

21. What is the attitude of the Association toward the injuries in- 

flicted upon the Negro? 

22. What is the importance of simplicity in Negro life? 

23. Explain the nature of self-respect from the standpoint of the 

Negro. 

24. Why is the outlook for the Negro an optimistic one? 



CHAPTER XXIII 

THE FAMILY 

133. Economic disruption of the family * 

From whatever angle the modern family is studied, the conclusion The family 
is inevitable that this most basic of our social institutions is in a ^^, ^^ ^ f*"^^^ 

of transi- 

state of transition or readjustment. Numerous and important tion. 
influences have combined to disintegrate the family as it existed 
in medieval times. Of these influences, one of the most fundamental 
is the economic, as Dr. Lichtenberger points out in the following 
selection: 

At the beginning of the modern economic era the family was the Formerly 
economic unit of society. ... It was usually large and Hved close family 
to the soil. It was an economic necessity. . . . Children were reared economic 
in the home. Their education and training were accompHshed "."''^ ^' 
there. This had reference not only to the intellectual, moral and 
religious development, but to the training for a gainful occupation, 
and usually included a "start in life." Production . . . was carried 
on within the household. Food was produced from the soil and came 
direct from garden and field to the table. Flax, cotton and wool 
were transformed into family clothing through the dexterity of 
the housewife. Shoes were cobbled and furniture was made by the 
husband on rainy days. . . . 

Women were of economic necessity home-keepers. Their time and women 
and skill were required to the utmost. If there existed incompati- J^^[j^ ^home- 
bility between husband and wife, the care of children and the keepers. 
economic necessities of the family afforded the strongest possible 
incentive for adjusting or suffering the difficulties. 

Within two generations changed economic conditions have wrought 

1 From James P. Lichtenberger, Divorce, A Study in Social Causation. Columbia 
University Press, New York, 1909; pp. 161-163. 

309 



3IO 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Within re- 
cent times 
profound 
changes 



have been 
wrought 
in the 
family. 



The Ughten- 
ing of 
household 



and its sig- 
nificance. 



Conclusion. 



the most profound transformations ever experienced by the race. 
Within the modern economic area population is rapidly becom- 
ing urban, and with the growth of modem industry the economic 
function of the family is passing away. Children are no longer 
"brought up" in the home as formerly. Their education has been 
taken in hand by the state, for which they are removed from the 
home for several hours each day. Kindergarten, pubhc school 
and college accompKsh this far more skilfuUy than former methods. 
The religious training is almost wholly provided by the Sunday 
School and the Church. 

Occupations are taught in the professional and technical schools 
without the long and unprofitable period of apprenticeship formerly 
required. The function of production, except of raw materials, has 
passed over to the shop and factory. The farmer produces fewer 
of the articles of his more elaborate table than formerly, and depends 
quite as much for clothing and household necessities upon factory 
production as the dweUer in the city. Much of the cooking, sewing, 
washing and ironing for the family is done better and more cheaply 
in the bakery, factory and laundry than in the home. 

Thus the Ughtening of household cares has become one of the 
interesting features of the influence of modern methods of industry 
upon the institution of the family, and herein lies the hope of the 
improved family of the future. 

But with the passing of the economic function the family ceases 
to be an economic unit. The members of the household are not 
interdependent as formerly. The home is maintained more as a 
comfort and a luxury than as a necessity, the cost becomes more 
burdensome in proportion to the service rendered, and the temp- 
tation to "break up housekeeping" increases. It is cheaper to board. 

In this manner is being removed, to a large extent, what 
Professor Sumner regards as one of the most fundamental motives 
for the origin of the family, and what has continued to be one of 
the strongest reasons for its perpetuation. The new industry of 
the boarding-house and the bachelor apartment, and the oppor- 
tunities of individual employment offered in modem economic 
production without regard to sex, have shown their influence in the 
later age at which marriage is contracted and probably also in an 



THE FAMILY 31I 

increasing number of persons who do not marry at all. The same 
opportunities are open to the members of the broken family. . . . 



134. The struggle for home life in the city ^ 

The tendency of modern industry to concentrate large masses Relation of 
of people in cities has had a profound effect upon the family. Urban , ^"'^'"g '■^- 
life offers the family many advantages over the country or the small home life in 
town, but unquestionably the maintenance of a normal home is ^ "^•^' 
more difficult in the city than in the less heavily populated areas. 
A house does not constitute a home, but certainly it is one of the 
fundamental conditions of home life. For this reason one important 
method of safeguarding the American home is the correction of 
bad housing conditions, and the provision of proper standards of 
house construction for the future. The following outline of a hous- Housing re- 
ing program for Des Moines, Iowa, illustrates something of the trend M^^JjJ^gg 
of scientific housing reform: Iowa. 

The road to the city that Des Moines of tomorrow could become 
will be constructed only with well-considered plans and long-con- 
tinued effort. The program for progressive work should include 
such purposes as the following: 

First, the goal: standardized housing. It is necessary to hold The goal is 
firmly to a clear view of the fundamental need. The individual standardized 

housing. 

and his home life must be given a higher value for several reasons. 
One of them is the fact that the control of tubercidosis and other 
communicable diseases can never be secured merely by activity 
outside of the house. The tenets of personal hygiene taught in 
public must be attainable in practice within every house, at least 
to the extent of being able to get an abundance of outside air, a 
fair amount of daylight and a convenient access to indispensable 
sanitary equipment. Certain standards such as a sink and a water 
closet for every family, and an outside window in every room, must 
be written down as a minimum house equipment for normal family 
life in the city. . . . 
Second, effective control of new construction. A state law is the 

* From the Housing Commission of the City of Des Moines (Iowa), Report. 
November, 1917; pp. 61-64. 



312 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



A state 
housing law 
is recom- 
mended. 



The neces- 
sity of 
proper reno- 
vation. 



Importance 
of commu- 
nity coopera- 
tion. 



Subnormal 
hving con- 
ditions. 



New con- 
struction 
methods 
desirable. 



best objective. It preserves the city life of the state. It is not so 
much more difficult to secure than an ordinance in one city, and all 
cities profit from it. There are not enough differences between cities 
to make varying ordinances necessary. ... 

Third, center renovation. The city ought to be able to find a 
middle path between wholesale and excessively expensive reno- 
vation of old houses attempted in a year or two, and the other 
extreme of practically no renovation work. . . . There are living 
rooms and service rooms now without any windows that could have 
skyhghts. . . . Slum spots in the center of the city. . . . could all be 
brought up to a better condition in less than a decade, if the need 
were studied and one of the areas renovated every other year. ... 

Fourth, community cooperation. ... If a minimum amount of 
sanitary equipment is the common right of the public, for the pur- 
poses of pubUc health and welfare, equally, also, is it the duty of 
the public to give that and all parts of rented property reasonable 
use. The children are now being taught to treat with respect pubUc 
school property, the Hbrary, the parks and the playgrounds. They 
shotild receive steady schooling in the preservation of their own 
property and the house in which they live. . . . 

There should be a constant, forceful pressure on the families 
that are living in a subnormal way. The ehmination of the worst 
houses cannot be considered without some thought for the elimina- 
tion of the worst famihes. In the lowest fife, the house eqxiipment 
and the wretched house habits are inseparable. There are families 
on the verge of degeneracy that need official prodding and prosecution; 
there are many families that need education in the care of the house, 
and there are some that ought to have help in maintaining a better 
home. The groups that are working with these families at their 
homes, such as friendly visitors, the truant and probation officers 
and the sanitary men of the health department, might well be coun- 
seled with, for the estabUshment of coordination of effort. . . . 

Fifth, new construction methods. The city ought to determine 
means for controlling not only the opening of new subdivisions 
that are without sewers and water, but also the occupancy of vacant, 
unserved blocks situated in areas now divided into lots. It ought 
to be possible to work out the details for city sanitary districts in 



THE FAMILY 313 

which the city services and a minimum house equipment are a pre- 
requisite. ... 

135. Pensions for poor mothers ^ 
In 191 1 the Missouri legislature passed a law which provided The moth- 

that there should be paid out of the state treasury an allowance ^'"'^ pension 

movement 
to mothers "whose husbands are dead or prisoners, when such began in 

mothers are poor and have a child and children under the aee of ^'^•^soun, m 

1911. 
14 years." This was the beginning of the mothers' pension move- 
ment, which has since attained prominence in the majority of the 
states of the Union. Pensions to mothers who are of themselves 
unable properly to rear their children, are not considered charity, 
but a reimbursement extended by the state to its most important 
social servant. The purpose of mothers' pension laws is to prevent 
the breaking up of the home, when by death or otherwise the natural 
support of the family is removed. The following is a summary of 
mothers' pension laws in the different states, as formulated by the 
Children's Bureau in the United States Department of Labor: 

Persons to whom aid may be given. — The law applies to any parent Persons who 
who on account of poverty is unable to care properly for a de- rna|y_ '"'^ceive 
pendent or neglected child, but is otherwise a proper guardian, in the vari- 
in Colorado and Nebraska; to any parent or grandparent in Nevada; °^^ states. 
to any parent or guardian in Wisconsin. In the other states it 
applies only to mothers. In California, New Jersey, Oklahoma . . . 
the mother must be a widow to receive the benefits of the act. In 
the remaining states not only widows but the following other classes 
of mothers with dependent children are included: mothers whose 
husbands are in prison in Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, 
Oregon, South Dakota, and Washington; mothers whose husbands 
are in state insane asylums in Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Oregon, 
and Washington; mothers whose husbands are totally incapaci- 
tated, physically or mentally, in Illinois, Minnesota, Ohio, Oregon, 
South Dakota, and Washington; deserted wives in Michigan, Ohio, 
(if deserted for three years), Pennsylvania, and Washington (if de- 
serted for one year). ... 

' From the United States Department of Labor, Children's Bureau, La'ccs Re- 
lalinq to Mothers' Pensions in the United States, Denmark and New Zealand. Wash- 
ington, 1914; pp. 9-1 1. 



314 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Conditions 
governing 
the distribu- 
tion of pub- 
lic aid: 

(a) 
degree of 
poverty. 



(b) 
conditions 
in tiie 
home, 



(c) 
and 
residence. 



Age of the 
child for 
whose care 
public aid 
is extended. 



Conditions on which aid is given, (a) Degree of poverty. — The 
condition of receiving aid under these laws is uniformly that of 
poverty, with certain definitions added in some of the laws. In 
Washington the mother must be destitute; in New Hampshire and 
Utah she must be dependent entirely on her own efforts for support; 
in Oregon, wholly or partly dependent; in Illinois she may not own 
real property or personal property other than household effects. 
In Idaho, lUinois, Missouri, New Hampshire, Ohio, South Dakota, 
and Utah the aid must in the judgment of the court be necessary 
to save the child from neglect; in New Jersey, from becoming a 
public charge. 

(b) Home conditions. — In most of the laws the requirement is 
made that the mother is a fit person, morally and physically, to 
bring up her children and that it is for the welfare of the child to 
remain at home. In Idaho, Illinois, Missouri, New Hampshire, 
Ohio, South Dakota, and Utah it is made conditional that the child 
or children be Hving with the mother and that the mother shall 
not work regularly away from home. In South Dakota she may not 
be absent for work more than one day a week; in lUinois and Ohio 
the amount of time is left to the discretion of the court. 

(c) Residence. — In Washington and Minnesota one year's resi- 
dence in the county is required; in Idaho, Missouri, New Hamp- 
shire, Ohio, and Utah two years' residence; in Illinois and Penn- 
sylvania three years' residence. Some of the states require "legal 
residence" in the state; Minnesota, two years' residence; CaU- 
fomia and Massachusetts, three years; CaUfomia and Illinois re- 
quire, in addition, that the applicant be a citizen of the United States, 

Age of child. — The maximum age of a child on whose account 
an allowance may be made is 14 years of age in California, Illinois 
(may be extended to 16 years if child is ill or incapacitated for work), 
Iowa, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, South Dakota, and Wis- 
consin; 15 in Idaho, Utah, and Washington; 16 in Colorado, New 
Hampshire, New Jersey, Oklahoma, and Oregon; 17 in Michigan; 
and 18 in Nebraska and Nevada. The legal working age is the 
Umit in Ohio and Pennsylvania. 

Amount of allowance. — The maximum allowance for one child 
is $2 a week in Iowa, $3 a week in Michigan. It is $9 a month for 



THE FAMILY 315 

one child, $14 for two children, and $4 for each additional child in Amount of 
New Jersey; $10 a month for each child in Minnesota and Nebraska; allow- 
$10 a month for one child and $5 for each additional child in Idaho, 
Missouri {i.e. Jackson County), New Hampshire, and Utah; $10 
for one child and $7.50 for each additional child in Oregon; $12 
for one child and $4 for each additional child in Wisconsin . . . ; 
$12 for one child, $20 for two children, $26 for three children, and 
$5 for each additional child in Pennsylvania; $12.50 for each child 
in CaUfomia ($6.25 a month by the state and a Uke amount by the 
city or county); $15 for one child and $5 for each additional child 
in Washington; $15 for one child and $7 for each additional child 
in Ohio and South Dakota; $15 for one child and fio for each addi- 
tional child in Illinois (not to exceed in all $50 for any one family). 
In Colorado, Massachusetts, and Nevada no maximum is set, but 
the amount must be sufficient to care properly for the child, with 
the restriction in Nevada that it may not exceed what it would 
cost to maintain and educate the child in a county or state home. . . . 



136. A proposed uniform divorce law ^ 

One indication of family instability is the divorce rate. Students Seriousness 
of American social conditions have frequently pointed out that °^ ^^^\'. 
in the United States the divorce rate is not only very high, but is and the 
rapidly increasing. Of the numerous remedies proposed for this ^'^°n^f^oj.m'*'^ 
condition, one of the most interesting is that of a uniform divorce divorce law. 
law throughout the United States. In 1906 a National Congress 
on Uniform Divorce Laws met in Philadelphia and proposed a 
statute, from which the following passage is an extract: 

An Act Regulating Annulment of Marriage and Divorce 
Chapter I — Jurisdictional Provisions 
Article I — Annulment of marriage 
Section i. Causes for annulment. 

A marriage may be annulled for any of the following causes exist- 
ing at the time of the marriage. 

' From the United States Bureau of the Census, Special Report on Marriage 
and Divorce, 1867-1Q06. Washington, igog. Part i, pp. 272-273. 



3i6 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Causes 
which may 
justify an 
annulment 
of marriage. 



(o) Incurable physical impotency. . . . 

(b) Consanguiiiity or affinity according to the table of degrees 
estabUshed by law, at the suit of either party. . . . 

(c) When such marriage was contracted while either of the parties 
thereto had a husband or wife living, at the suit of either party. 

(d) Fraud, force, or coercion, at the suit of the innocent and 
injured party, unless the marriage has been confirmed by the acts 
of the injured party. 

(e) Insanity of either party. . . . 

(/) At the suit of the wife when she was under the age of i6 
years at the time of the marriage, unless such marriage be confirmed 
by her after arriving at such age. 

(g) At the suit of the husband when he was under the age of i8 
at the time of the marriage, unless such marriage be confirmed by 
him after arriving at such age. 



Article II — Divorce 
Section 2. Kinds of. Divorce shall be of two kinds: (a) Divorce 
from the bonds of matrimony. . . . (b) Divorce from bed and 
board. . . . 



Causes for 
divorce 
from the 
bonds of 
matrimony. 



Article III — Divorce from the bonds of matrimony 
Section 3. Causes for. 
The causes for divorce from the bonds of matrimony shall be." 

(a) Adultery. 

(b) Bigamy, at the suit of the innocent and injured party to the 
first marriage. 

(c) Conviction and sentence for crime . . . followed by a con- 
tinuous imprisonment for at least two years, or in the case of 
indeterminate sentence, for at least one year. . . . 

(d) Extreme cruelty, on the part of either husband or wife. . . . 

(e) Wilful desertion for two years. 

(/) Habitual drunkenness for two years. 



Article IV — Divorce from bed and board 
Section 4. Causes for. 
The causes for divorce from bed and board shall be: 



THE FAMILY 317 

(a) Adultery. Causes for 

(b) Bigamy, at the suit of the innocent and injured party to the ^i^orce 

^ •■ •' from bed 

first marriage. and board. 

(c) Conviction and sentence for crime . . . followed by a con- 
tinuous imprisonment for at least two years, or in the case of 
indeterminate sentence, for at least one year. ... 

(d) Extreme cruelty, on the part of either husband or wife. . . . 

(e) Wilful desertion for two years. 

(/) Habitual drunkenness for two years. 
(g) Hopeless insanity of the husband. 

Article V — Bars to relief 

Section 5. When decree shall be denied. Bars to 

No decree for divorce shall be granted if it appears to the satis- ""^ 

faction of the court that the suit has been brought by collusion, 

or that the plaintiff has procured or connived at the offense charged, 

or has condoned it, or has been guilty of adultery not condoned. . . . 



required 



Article VIII — Evidence 
Section 14. Proof required. Proof 

No decree for annulment of marriage, or of divorce, shall be 

granted unless the cause is shown by affirmative proof aside from 

any admission on the part of the defendant. . . . 

Article IX — Decrees 

Section 16. Rule for decree nisi. Decree nisi. 

If after hearing of any cause, or after a jury trial resulting in a ver- 
dict for the plaintiff, the court shall be of opinion that the plaintiff 
is entitled to a decree annulling the marriage, or to a decree for di- 
vorce from the bonds of matrimony, a decree nisi shall be entered. 

Section 17. Final decrees, entry of. 

A decree nisi shall become absolute after the expiration of one 
year from the entry thereof, unless appealed from or proceedings 
for review are pending, or the court before the expiration of said 
period for sufficient cause, . . . otherwise orders; and at the expi- 
ration of one year such final and absolute decree shall then be 
entered, upon application to the court by the plaintiff, unless prior 
to that time cause be shown to the contrary. 



3i8 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Decree in 
the case of 
divorce 
from bed 
and board. 



Section i8. Decree in the case of divorce from bed and board, 
terms of. 

In all cases of divorce from bed and board for any of the causes 
specified in section 4 of this act, the court may decree a separation 
forever thereafter, or for a hmited time, as shall seem just and rea- 
sonable, with a provision that in case of a reconcihation at any 
time thereafter, the parties may apply for a revocation or suspen- 
sion of the decree; and upon such apphcation the court shall make 
such order as may be just and reasonable. . . . 



Education 
versus leg- 
islation as 
a remedy 
for family 
instability. 



A state 
program of 
education 
for the 
home. 



State super- 
vision. 



137. Education for home-making ^ 

Although wisely drawn and carefully administered marriage and 
divorce laws will undoubtedly reduce the number of unsuccessful 
families, legislation is limited in its influence upon family instabil- 
ity. Legislation attacks symptoms, while education tends to remove 
the fundamental causes of unsuccessful marriages. While legisla- 
tion remains an important concern, therefore, an increasing amount 
of attention is being given to the preparation of young people for 
home-making. At the present time an important element in this 
educational program is the attempt to give young people, and espe- 
cially girls, a knowledge of those household arts which are fundamen- 
tal to home-making. The following summary of a state program of 
education for the home is from a report by the Bureau of Education 
in the United States Department of the Interior: 

There is presented herewith, in summary, a brief statement of 
points comprising a state program of education for the home as they 
may, with advantage, be expressed in its school legislation. 

1. A requirement that household arts be taught in every elemen- 
tary school, city and rural. 

2. State supervision of household-arts education by an expert 
inspector, preferably an assistant attached to the office of the state 
superintendent of schools, who can give direction to the develop- 
ment of a progressive program. 

» From the United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Education. 
Bulletin, igi4, No. 37. "Education for the Home." Washington, igis. Part 11, 
pp. 46-47- 



THE FAMILY 319 

3. Home economics included as a part of the normal-school prep- The prepa- 

aration of every grade teacher, and as a part of the course in all nation of 

LCcLCiicrs* 
training classes for teachers, city and rural, so that household-arts 

teaching may be included in the grade work of the regular teacher. 

4. A certificate for special teachers of household arts requiring 
not less than two years of professional training beyond the high 
school, and for supervisory teachers a three-year or, preferably, 
a full four-year course. 

5. A state grant toward the salary of special teachers of house- Salary. 
hold arts and supervisors of household arts — that is, of teachers 

with the specified preparations who devote full time to household 
teaching. 

6. A system of supervision of household-arts teaching in rural Supervision 
schools, through a visiting teacher who gives special instruction ^"^ ■'ural 
and who aids the regular teacher in this special field . . . ; by a 

system of consolidation of rural schools; or by the Minnesota system 
of associating rural schools with a central school. 

7. In secondary education encouragement of household science 
teaching in all public high schools; first by state grants toward 
teacher's salary, and ultimately by a requirement that the subject 
be offered at least as an elective. 

8. The recognition of household arts and home-making in the new Vocational 
program of vocational education by giving these subjects a place ^"".^^t'o^ m 
coordinate with training for industry, commerce, and agriculture, types of 

9. Prevocational classes of the seventh and eighth grades in house- ^^'^ools. 
hold arts and in other fields to hold pupils who now leave school — 

but not to encroach on fundamental education of a general character. 

10. On the secondary level, distinct vocational training in house- 
hold arts and in other fields — by day schools, or part-time contin- 
uation schools at daytime hours, or by evening classes to be done 
away with as soon as the part-time continuation school at daytime 
hours can be introduced. , . . 

11. Higher institutions, normal schools, technical institutes, and 
colleges will provide vocational instruction upon a higher level. 

12. The program of extension education to reach the homemakers Extension 
of the present generation to be carried out both in city and country. ^° "\ 
In the city this involves lectures, day and evening classes under the country. 



320 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



public schools, and Instruction by settlements, philanthropic soc- 
ieties, churches, and other agencies through classes, visiting house- 
keepers, home schools, or model flats, and other means. In the 
country the prime need is for movable schools of homemaking, and 
visiting advisory teachers of housekeeping, whose work as consviltants 
may be developed in connection with the farm demonstration work 
in agriculture. Meanwhile women's institutes, homemaking clubs, 
correspondence courses, housewives' bulletins, and similar agencies 
are utihzed increasingly by agricultural colleges and local schools 
to reach the rural home. 



Importance 
of the 

ideals which 
are held by 
prospective 
husband 
and wife. 



Funda- 
mental sig- 
nificance of 
the family. 



The basic 
remedy for 
family in- 
stability. 



138. The attitude of young people toward marriage^ 

Even more important, perhaps, than training in the fundamental 
household arts, is the attitude of the young man and young woman 
toward marriage. The most careful preparation of a young man 
as a breadwinner, and the most skilful management of household 
economies by the young woman, wiU not guarantee a successful 
and happy home if the ideals of husband and wife are fundamentally 
wrong. The exaggeration of individualism, the undue insistence 
upon ambition, social prestige, and personal pleasure, the unwilling- 
ness to make the mutual concessions necessary to a successful mar- 
riage, all these factors render highly important the attitude of young 
people toward marriage. In the following passage the ideals which 
ought to motivate the prospective husband and wife are outlined 
by Raymond Calkins: 

Doubtless the problem of the family is the most serious of all our 
social problems, for the simple reason that it underlies them all. 
It is precisely because the integrity and coherence of the family group 
are the test of American civilization that modern social observers 
are justly filled with alarm when they discover its steady and even 
rapid disintegration. . . . 

[And what is the remedy for this disintegration? The tightening 
of marriage and divorce laws and other legislative remedies are ad- 
vocated by many reformers.] Yet aU of these suggestions, however 
important, fail to go to the root of the matter. For the problem of 

1 From Raymond Calkins, The Christian Idea in the Modern World. The Pilgrim 
Press, Boston, 1918; pp. 63-66. 



THE FAMILY 321 

the family, ultimately, is not "the result of a defective social arrange- 
ment, but of a defective moral creed." Its solution therefore must 
be sought not in the sphere of legislation or of economic adjustment, 
but in the regulation of the impulses and affections of the human 
heart. It is precisely the operation of the christian idea in the life 
of the individual that alone will solve the problem of family life. . . . 

The arch-enemy of the family, and of any kind of associated life, Selfishness 
is the selfish will. The real foe of family life is the untamed Adam ^^^ ^'^^\ 

enemy of 
of the human heart, a deep-seated, obstinate and inveterate egotism, the family. 

arrant and unmitigated selfishness. Family disintegration is simply a 

modem recrudescence of the selfishness of Cain. Elementary as such 

a proposition is, . . . the discovery that it is true brings to many 

people the shock of surprise. They have thought of marriage and the 

life of the home as simply another way of realizing selfish desires 

and ambitions, and suddenly they find themselves involved in a 

moral situation that demands of them the continued exercise of 

the generous instinct of self-forgetfulness, the foregoing of their 

own desires and wills. 

This they are unprepared to perform. Their idea is both to have The funda- 

their own selfish way and a home also, and it is a great revelation to njental law 

of family 
them to discover that the thing cannot be done. It is selfishness that life. 

breaks up a home. It makes no difference what form that selfishness 

may take. It may take the form of actual brutality, of purely material 

conceptions of living, or of ungenerous self-consideration or a petty 

disregard of others' feelings and refined cruelties of speech. The 

fundamental law of the family life is mutual consideration and good 

will. Upon that spiritual foundation the family rests. Let one violate 

that law, and he precipitates an inevitable and tragic collision of 

forces that must result in the wreckage of human life and happiness. 

In other words, it is only as the christian idea is recognized and Conclusion. 

put into practical operation that the gravest of our social problems 

can be solved. Nothing will counteract this social disease and prevent 

its spread but the education of the individual in the moral ideas of 

Jesus. Not only are those ideas practicable in this most intimate 

and fundamental of human relationships, but they must positively 

be practised if those relationships are themselves to be preserved 

and perpetuated. 



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~Tg JMIfMiaraHL aaa. TS 



Tj£. JLLIBL So. 



324 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Mobility of 
population 
handicaps 
the social 
worker. 



Social 
causes of 
intercom- 
munity mi- 
gration. 



Chief cause 
of migration 
among wage- 
earners. 



Mobility 
within the 
community. 



located there on the basis of personal choice, and the other whose 
inhabitants have located there as the result of economic comptilsion. 
The former . . . contains the possibihties for the development of 
neighborhood sentiment and organization, while the latter lacks the 
necessary elements for reconstruction. . . . 

[Mobility of population gives rise to problems which are the con- 
cern of social workers.] Organizations dealing with dehnquency 
and dependency are hampered in their efforts by the frequent move- 
ments of their "cases." Similarly the church, trade union, and other 
voluntary forms of association lose in their efficiency through the 
rapid turnover of the local membership lists. ... 

[It is important to notice the social causes of intercommunity 
migration.] The sudden change from a predominantly agricultural 
to a predominantly industrial society has occasioned a mobility of 
life unknown before. As long as the soil furnished the chief basis 
of economic income man was obliged to live a comparatively stable 
fife in a fLxed and definite locahty. With the development of the 
modern capitalistic regime, the presence of the individual is no longer 
necessary to insure the productivity and security of his property. . . . 
He is thus left free to Hve, if he so desires, a nomad Hfe. Of course 
all classes in society are not equally free to move about. The middle- 
class tradesman and many of the professional groups are more or 
less tied to definite localities by the very nature of their work. On 
the other hand, the well-to-do and the day-laborer are free to move 
almost at will. 

Our modem factory system is the chief cause of the present migra- 
tory tendencies of the wage-earning class. . . . "Seasonal or inter- 
mittent occupations, temporary jobs, commercial depressions, occa- 
sional unemployment, and a general sense of the lack of permanency 
in the tenure of their industrial positions, pull settled families up 
by the roots and seldom leave them long enough in one place to take 
root again. Our manual workers are more and more transient. Many 
among them are forced to become tramping famihes." 

Moreover, change of residence from one section to another within 
the community is quite as disturbing to neighborhood assocation as 
is movement from one community to another. ... 

Again, there is a type of mobility that is not indicated by change 



DEPENDENCY: ITS RELIEF AND PREVENTION 325 

of residence, but which is almost as significant from the standpoint Another 
of neighborhood Ufe. This is measured by the ability of the indi- f^P^ °^ '^'^ 
vidual, due to modern methods of communication, to utiUze the 
larger social environment afforded by the community as a whole. 
The automobile, street car, telephone, and press, together with the 
increased leisure time, have all contributed greatly to the break- 
down of neighborhood ties. . . . 

140. The diagnosis of dependency ^ 

Social workers who come into intimate contact with the dependent The corn- 
classes are obliged constantly to recognize the fact that in the majority ^^^ nature 
of cases dependency exists, not as the result of a single influence, ency ne- 

but because of a number of causes. These causes, sometimes con- cessitates 

careful 
veniently classified as economic, social, poHtical or personal, generally diagnosis. 

interlock with one another in a most baffling way. In view of this 

complexity, a case of dependency demands careful and detailed 

diagnosis, if the dependent individual or family is to be helped back 

to normal life. In the following extract from a report of the Detroit 

Associated Charities are two typical cases, and, in each instance, 

the diagnosis of the causes of dependency: 

CASE NO. 376 

The family consists of father, age 34; mother, age 30, and five a family is 

children ranging in ages from 3 to 10 years. helped to 

move to 

The case first became known to the United Jewish Charities in Detroit. 
1 910, to whom the family had been sent by ... an organization 
which assists immigrant families to move from the congested dis- 
tricts of New York City to the interior of the country. Upon arriving 
in Detroit the family was given financial aid for a period of one 
month, and the man was placed in employment. 

In November, 191 1, the family again applied to the United Jewish New diffi- 
Charities because of economic need. The man was unemployed and ^""'^^• 
the woman ill. Payment of rent and emergency rehef was asked 
for and granted. A stove was also given the family. Failing to find 
work, the man became dissatisfied, and the family returned of its 
own accord to New York City. 

1 From the Detroit Associated Charities, Trouble Cases. Detroit, Mich., igig; 
pp. i8-ig, 32-33. 



326 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Relief again 
received. 



Case com- 
ment and 



diagnosis. 



In May, 191 2, the family again returned to Detroit on its own 
volition. There is no record of aid being given to this family until 
April, 1 9 13, when the man was sent to the hospital. Relief was given 
to the family by the United Jemsh Charities and the woman was 
supplied with free medical service during maternity. . . . 

Case Comment: Cases of this type reveal chiefly economic prob- 
lems that are fairly numerous. . . . The work of the agencies on 
the case appears to have been helpful and gradually the family 
seems to have attained self-support. . , . 

Diagnosis: Attempt to improve condition by removal from con- 
gested eastern city, followed by unemployment, and insufficient 
income, for health needs. . . . 



Another 
case: 

Family des- 
titute, man 
out of 
work, and 
living con- 
ditions bad. 



Further 
trouble. 



Transporta- 
tion refused. 



CASE NO. 821 

On the last. day of 191 5 the L. family came to the attention of the 
Poor Commission. One week previously, this American family, 
consisting of father, age 35, mother 30, and six children, from i to 
12 years, had left the farm owned by the man's father because it 
was too small to furnish adequate support to both famihes, and had 
come to this city to live with the woman's mother, a widow, who 
was herself receiving relief from the Poor Commission. . . . When 
the investigator for the Poor Commission found the family, ten of 
them were living in one room, and the father, who had spent his work- 
ing life on a farm . . . had not as yet been able to find employment. 
The owner of the house in which they were hving was complaining 
bitterly of the overcrowding and unsanitary conditions. The Poor 
Commission gave emergency relief, provisions and fuel, and obtained 
employment for the man. 

Two weeks later the man was again out of work; the family was 
destitute, and appUed to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. This 
society investigated and found the family destitute and the youngest 
child ill with diphtheria. The child was sent to the [hospital]. . . . 
Because of the unsanitary conditions of the household, the fam- 
ily were referred to the Visiting Housekeeper Association for 
instruction. , . . 

During the second employment period of the man it seemed possible 
that the family might become chronically dependent, and they were 



DEPENDENCY: ITS RELIEF AND PREVENTION 327 

offered transportation back to their legal residence. This the family 
refused. 

The Conference of St. Vincent de Paul had given temporary re- Low wages. 
Uef in this case and had then referred the family to its Child Caring 
Department for social work. The social worker made several visits. 
In March the man was working, earning about $2.00 to $2.50 a 
day. In April the house was condemned by the Board of Health Family 
and the family moved to another place. , . . moved. 

In November, 1916, the family again applied to the St. Vincent 
de Paul Society because of destitution. . . . 

Case Comment: This case involves an economic problem of low Case corn- 
wages, complicated by illnesses of various members of the family. "^^"*^ ^"'^ 
It is illustrative of the extreme difficulties encountered by a family 
of this type locating in Detroit without resources. . . . More generous 
standards of relief would have lessened the family difficulty. 

Diagnosis: Economic difficulties of native worker in new environ- diagnosis, 
ment: illness of children: poor housing: inadequate reUef. 

141. The friendly visitor ^ 

Because dependency is a many-sided phenomenon, we have been Friendly 
obliged to develop various types of social work to attack the different ^'^itrng an 

_ _ _ element m 

phases of the problem. Prominent in the field of social work are organ- organized 

ized charity societies, known by various names in different cities, '^"'^"ty 

... , work. 

One of the characteristic elements in the work of organized charity 
is friendly visiting. The best tj^e of friendly visitor is a trained 
social worker who personally wins the confidence and loyalty of the 
dependent, and then, by constructive aid and advice, helps to induce 
a normal situation. Some concrete examples of the work of the 
friendly visitor may here be cited from the Twenty- first Annual 
Report of the Associated Charities of Boston: 

Ten years ago one of our visitors made her first call upon the a family 
family whose story is here given. She found five untidy children, the '^^^^^ "^^ 
father just recovering from a broken leg, and the ailing mother with evil days is 
a sickly, small baby, regarded as the bringer of the family's recent ^oyn° by ^ 

* From the Associated Charities of Boston, Twenty-first Annual Report. Boston, 
November, 1900; pp. 10-13. 



328 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



and taught 
the funda- 
mentals of 
a proper 
diet, and 
the care of 
money. 



A drunkard 
is turned 
into an in- 
dustrious 
and respon- 
sible citizen. 



A third 
case. 



bad luck. A leaky stove hardly warmed their two badly kept rooms, 
and was of no use at all for baking. So the famUy lived on baker's 
bread, bacon, and other unsuitable and comparatively expensive 
foods. 

The gift of a new stove procured by the Conference made a pleasant 
opportunity for the visitor to show the mother how to cook better 
and cheaper food; she also taught her to cut and fit clothes for her 
family. . . . The health of aU improved, and the family finances as 
well. The visitor showed how much cheaper it was to save money and 
buy a carpet for cash than to buy on the instalment plan, as the mother 
had wished; and this experiment led to the purchase of all the house- 
hold goods for cash, and eventually to the purchase of the house 
itself. . . . 

A case where a httle investigation resulted immediately in bene- 
fits to the family is that of a woman who applied to one of our agents 
for help for herself, sick husband, and two children. The rehef so- 
ciety which had helped before reported that the man was a hopeless 
drunkard for whom it was useless to do anything. Our agent found 
that the man had been a carpenter on a southern ranch, and wrote 
to his employers there. They needed his services, and sent money 
for his ticket back. It was rheumatism which in the climate of Boston 
kept him from working, and drove him to drink. Since returning 
south he has worked steadily on the ranch, comfortably supporting 
his family, who remain here. 

Three years ago a man fell from a staging and was killed, leaving 
a wife and five small children. The visitor appealed to the man's 
former employer, who furnished fuel for the family for some time; 
the two youngest children were taken into the day nursery; a former 
employer of the mother also assisted with groceries; relatives" were 
interested, who helped to the extent of their abihty; and friends 
secured quite a sum by means of a benefit ball. This money the 
woman is using in fitting up and stocking a little store near a park, 
which promises to make her self-supporting. . . . 

[Another case is that of a] couple with two young children. . . . 
The man, formerly a 'longshoreman, had lung trouble, and was unable 
to do hard work. The visitor secured admission for the oldest child 
to the day nursery, and found the woman work, which she soon lost 



DEPENDENCY: ITS RELIEF AND PREVENTION 329 

through inefficiency. Again the visitor secured work for the woman Constructive 

and hght outdoor work for the man, who has greatly improved in ^'*^/^" 

health. The next step was to induce the family to leave their wretched family 

quarters for a more homeUke place, and this was accomplished. Back formerly 

dependent 

debts have been paid, a new stove Is gradually being paid for, and they upon a sick 

are now receiving practically no help. '"^"• 

[Here is another case:] A man, unable to do hard work, earned A family 

a little; wife suffered from epilepsy and periods of insanity; several ^"''^^ '^^"" 

■' ' not be re- 

of the five children deUcate, and two of them deformed. Through habilitated, 

the efforts of the friendly visitor, one child was admitted to the "* which 
Children's Hospital, its legs were straightened, and the boy sent friendly 
home with its limbs in a plaster cast. . . . The child is now at home ^'^'"^""^ 
again, perfectly well and sound. In the mean time the mother's 
sister in an inland city was consulted, and gave the baby a good home 
with herself while the mother was in the hospital for the insane. 

Whatever the future may show as to the wisdom of keeping this partially re- 
family together, it will readily be seen that the visitor's efforts, with organizes. 
the help of the charities, have resulted in restoring to perfectly 
normal and healthy condition one who would otherwise have been 
a cripple and burden on society. 

142. An ideal almshouse ^ 

As a general rule, persons who are only shghtly or temporarily Two types 
dependent, and who do not need specialized care or treatment, are rehef. 
best treated in their homes. On the other hand, relief should gen- 
erally be extended through institutions where the dependent is per- 
manently or totally disabled, or where he is in need of special care 
and treatment. The oldest and least specialized of all institutions 
for the adult dependent is the almshouse, sometimes called the poor- 
house. In the following selection Francis Bardwell, formerly In- 
spector of Almshouses in Massachusetts, tells what an inmate of The alms- 
an ideal almshouse has a right to expect: house. 

Those of us whose business it is to deal with the affairs and manage- Taking the 

ment of institutions usually approach the subject through the main P?'"*^ " 

hallways; I feel that we would get further and see clearer if we came inmate. 

* From the National Conference of Social Work, Proicedings. Forty-fourth 
Annual Session. Pittsburg, June 6-13, 1917; pp. 357-361. 



330 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Things 
which the 
inmate has 
a right to 
expect of 
the alms- 
house. 



An ideal 

almshouse 

building. 



Food and 



medical 
attendance. 



Kindly 
attendance. 



into the institution at the inmates' entrance and saw things from 
their point of observation. 

[Suppose that I am a pauper and that the authorities see fit to 
care for me through the medium of the almshouse.] When I have 
made apphcation and been accepted, I have a right to expect certain 
things pertinent to my comfort, welfare, and care. . . , First, I 
have a right to demand the common necessities — shelter, personal 
cleanhness, food, clothing, and medical attendance; second, I have 
a right to ask for the following comforts — kindly attendance, quiet 
and decent quarters, reasonable freedom from objectionable fellow 
inmates, the opportunity of receiving visits from friends; third, 
I hope to receive some form of recreation, the pleasure of attending 
reUgious services at least monthly, employment suited to my age 
and physical condition, the right to protest, without detriment 
to myself, against any hardship I may feel that I am forced to 
bear. . . . 

First, then, I demand as my right, shelter. This means the alms- 
house building. . . , Briefly, we need a building, properly heated, 
allowing for separation of sexes, ample fire protection and fire es- 
capes, well-equipped kitchen and laundry, well-arranged sleeping 
quarters, intelligently planned sanitary conveniences, an assembly 
room, or dining room large enough to use for an assembly room, rest 
rooms for the women and smoking rooms for the men, adequate 
hospital accommodations, etc. . . . 

Food. — What shall the standard be? A sufiicient amount of well- 
cooked, nutritious food, varied and suited to the condition of the 
consumers. InvaHds and the sick should have the advantage of a 
dietary provided by the physician. . . . 

As an almshouse inmate I am entitled to good medical attendance, 
and I look to the administration to furnish the same standard as 
they employ in their own families. . . . 

Kindly attendance. — Whatever else a warden may possess in exec- 
utive ability, he must be honest and kindly. . . . The matron must 
be a woman who has lost her temper for all time, a good manager, 
and, in a word, a mother to the inmate family. . . . The adminis- 
tration must be conducted for the proper care of the inmates. The 
institution exists for its inmates, not for one type, one group, but as 



DEPENDENCY: ITS RELIEF AND PREVENTION 331 

is best for all. Proper care should never be subordinate to mere 
economy. . . . 

I, as an inmate, want recreation, work, religious services, and the The right 
right to report abuses and not suffer for so reporting. I think it should ^? '■^^"■ea- 
be the duty of the superintendent, with the strong backing of the giou's serv- 
directors, to enUst the cooperation of various church societies and ''^^^' ^^^' 
fraternal orders so that entertainment may be provided for the alms- 
house people, talks, concerts, simple treats, and in some cases moving 
pictures. I believe that every almshouse should have its Christmas 
observance, a tree, Uttle remembrances and gifts, and above all the 
Christmas spirit that to many poor old people banishes for a time the 
feeling of complete dependence. Men and women should be provided 
with games, papers, magazines, etc. I know one almshouse that 
provides a car ride and annual picnic, and another where a lady of 
the community opens her home for a whole day and entertains the 
old ladies. Such events provide pleasant anticipation and hours 
of wonderful memories, and are a good investment in almshouse 
administration, as is anything that brings about the spirit of 
contentment. . . . 

143. State control of institutions for dependents ^ 

As has been suggested, charitable relief may be either institutional The two- 

or non-institutional. To confine our present attention to institutional ^°'^'^ devel- 
opment in 
relief, the past century has witnessed a twofold development in this institutional 

field. In the first place, there has been a high degree of specialization 

to meet the needs of various types of dependents. In the second 

place, there has been a tendency for all of the charitable institutions 

of the state to be placed under coordinated management. In the 

following selection Professor Henderson discusses some aspects of 

this development: 

For the function of supervision and direction of the state insti- in the con- 

tutions through an administrative body it has been found desirable 

to appoint boards of competent persons charged with this duty. 

The tendency to specialization in older and more populous states is 

shown in the creation of separate bodies for the supervision or control 

* From Charles Richmond Henderson, Introduction to the Study of the Dependent, 
Defective, and Delinquent Classes. D. C. Heath & Co. igoi; pp. 206-208. 



relief. 



trol of state 
institutions, 



332 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



division 
of labor is 
necessary. 



The proper 
field of a 
state board 
of charities. 



Status of 
its recom- 
mendations. 



of institutions of charity, lunacy, prisons, health, and education. 
It is impossible to govern such varied interests by general statutes, 
and the legislature is incompetent to frame practical rules of govern- 
ment. Administrative agents may be selected by the executive head 
of a commonwealth who are able to give particular attention to the 
various needs of the several classes of public wards. 

Pauperism and crime should be separated from each other in 
thought and practice, and both from insanity, health, and education. 
The problems are too vast and complex to intrust to a single board. 
There must be division of labor. It is impossible to find in any one 
man all the necessary qualifications for success in several different de- 
partments. A commission which has long devoted itself to the con- 
sideration of the wants of the insane is rarely composed of persons 
most suitable to serve as overseers of prisoners. A board of health 
requires expert medical knowledge, while the leaders of public schools 
must be trained in the science and art of education. 

There are two types of state boards of charities, distinguished by 
their functions and powers, one charged with supervision, and others 
with control. The objections to having a single board of control 
for all the institutions of a state have already been considered. 

The proper field of a state board of charities is the supervision 
of all establishments of the commonwealth, and of voluntary asso- 
ciations which are philanthropic in character. It has power to re- 
quire accounts to be kept on a uniform and prescribed plan, so that 
results may be compared. All officials are under legal obligation to 
afford all necessary facilities for the study of conditions, working, 
and discipHne. The board represents the interests of the entire 
people of the state, whose sacrifices furnish support and whose 
fortunes are affected by the use or abuse of corporate powers. Such 
a board, having no direct and administrative responsibilities, is 
independent of each particular institution, and is in a position to 
weigh and compare the claims of all with just and fair judgment. 

Their recommendations to the legislature have an authority and 
presumption of impartiality which cannot be expected of the local 
boards. The public is justified in a certain reserve in accepting the 
statements, the claims, and the requests of a controlling body which 
may be expected to favor its own poHcy and conduct. 



DEPENDENCY: ITS RELIEF AND PREVENTION 333 

A supervisory state board of charities may have certain quasi- Quasi-ad- 
administrative duties assigned it without impairing its general char- ^^J^'^g'^of ^*^ 
acter. Thus it may be empowered to examine and pass upon all the board, 
plans for county, city, and state buildings, as asylums, poorhouses, 
jails, and the law may require their approval before contracts may 
be let. They may also be required to remove paupers from the state 
or from one institution to another within the state, when such changes 
promise to promote justice and efficiency of treatment. 

The poUtical principle of administration at the basis of all state The princi- 

boards is very wide and vital. The people of the entire common- Pf 9 .^tate 
•^ _ .... administra- 

wealth have an interest, financial and moral, even in institutions with tion 
local support and control, as schools, . . . police of cities, taxation, 
municipal finances, and industries and charities. The principle 
may be formulated thus: when the interest of the entire people of 
the commonwealth is involved in local administration, the best regula- 
tive agency is a supervisory board or a commission, appointed by 
the executive branch, and acting continuously to safeguard the 
interest of the commonwealth. 

The reasons for adopting this principle are: That a central board and the 
or commission, so appointed, is more apt to be composed of able and 
competent men. They act before the public view and are held to 
a higher standard of responsibility and eflficiency. They have a wider 
field of observation and comparison of conditions and methods. 
They can command the most efficient means of securing information. 

The special and occasional examinations by temporary committees 
of legislatures are utterly inadequate, because they have not the 
previous and continuous training which secures expert judgment. 



144. The movement for financial federation^ 

We have noticed that in institutional reUef speciahzation has been Movement 
accompanied or followed by coordination. Non-institutional reUef *° coordi- 

•^ nate social 

has experienced this same twofold development. The coordination agencies of 

a non-insti- 
tutional 



reasons for 
adopting it. 



of non-institutional relief agencies may take one of several forms. 

Some students beheve that while it is desirable for the functions nature. 

* From the American Association for Organizing Charity, Financial Federations. 
New York, 191 7; pp. 63-67. 



334 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Degree of 
financial 



Educational 
aspect of 
financial 
federation. 



Question of 
gains from 
the social 
side. 



Progress in 
cities where 
federation 
does not 
exist. 



of such agencies to be coordinated, the organizations should remain 
separate and distinct as regards finances and internal management. 
More recently, however, others have advocated the federation of 
social agencies financially as well as functionally. A financial federa- 
tion may include all community-wide, non-sectarian associations 
or social agencies which desire to raise their funds jointly or by com- 
mon action. In 191 7 the American Association for Organizing Charity 
formulated the following conclusions and recommendations with 
respect to financial federations: 
Our general conclusions are as follows: 

1. Measured by total contributions, financial success appears to 
have been usual in initial federation years except where there has 
been inadequate preparation and organization. ... In most federa- 
tions the cost of collection has probably been reduced below what 
it might have been under average unfederated conditions, but the 
gain has not been a marked one. 

2. On the educational side there has been an undoubted gain in 
certain cities, due to their federations' publicity efforts, and "some 
gain in all cities to the extent that joint appealing makes the breadth 
and variety of social work better reaUzed. But even in the federation 
cities that have done the best educational work we recognize a 
tendency, which seems to us inevitable, toward a loss of interest 
resulting from the lessened contact between givers and the objects 
of their gifts, and we very much doubt whether this has not more 
than offset all that has been gained by organized pubHcity and by 
the one educational element in joint appeaHng just referred to. . . . 

3. On the social side the gains of the federations that have at- 
tempted social work have been considerable, and usually so far they 
seem not to have been offset by losses, other than [the loss previously 
noted.] The fact, however, that so many federations have neglected 
social work indicates a tendency which grows out of the imperative 
character of the financial problem which it is a federation's first 
duty to solve. . . . 

[However,] in many cities in which no federations exist progress 
has been steady and important, both in educational lines and in organ- 
ized cooperative social work — quite as important, even though 
possibly not as rapid, as that which has taken place in certain of 



DEPENDENCY: ITS RELIEF AND PREVENTION 335 

the federation cities. . . . [Due to the insufficiency of the data, we 
must conclude that] whether the federation plan in any city means 
a net social advance or the reverse is yet to be demonstrated. No A warning, 
demonstration, moreover, can be made in the next two or three years. 
The more far-reaching effects can hardly show themselves in that 
time. It must be recalled also that the forming of a federation 
means an immense amount of work, which is wasted unless the fed- 
eration accomplishes more than the constituent associations could 
do. Unless this result is very probable, federation should not be under- 
taken. . . . 

We recognize that many of the federation difficulties . . . are due Mistakes of 
to mistakes of management. The secretary of one of the large fed- |^gJJ^^^ 
erations states that "no important movement has suffered more from 
hasty organization, inadequate preparation, and amateurish leader- 
ship than the federation movement." 

It should be remembered that to a considerable extent when an Federation 
organization enters a federation it bums its bridges behind it. The "^revocable 
secretary of one of the large federations writes: "Obviously, after step. 
a few years of giving which is almost altogether undesignated giving 
it will be very difficult to restore designations or even to restore the 
old unfederated order." ... 

A few months ago Mr. Williams stated that "the biggest obstacle The great- 
to the success of the federation plan is that its logic is too good — ^^ federa- 
it looks too easy." This is very true. It partly explains the great tion. 
mortality among federations. Five out of twenty have been aban- 
doned and one other has suspended operations. The abohtion of 
competition in the financing of social organizations, for the sake of 
avoiding its waste, ic as attractive a proposition in theory and appar- 
ently as logical as the abolition of competition in business. . . . But 
in the social field . . . there are spiritual and psychological factors Conclusion. 
which leave doubts as to the ultimate advantage to be derived from 
giving up a plan of work which has behind it the experience of more 
than one generation of social workers, in order to adopt one which, 
according to many who are in a position to know, is still in its experi- 
mental stage. 



336 READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 

Questions on the foregoing Readings 

1. What is the relation of dependency to urban life? 

2. What is the most obvious effect of the mobility of the urban 

population? 

3. What are the social causes of intercommunity migration? 

4. What is a chief cause of the migratory tendency among wage- 

earners? 

5. How may the causes of dependency be classified? 

6. Why is it necessary to analyze cases of dependency in a careful 

and detailed way? 

7. Outline the history of the family which became dependent because 

of removal from New York to Detroit under unfavorable circum- 
stances. 

8. Explain the case of the family which became dependent because 

of removal to an environment in which the chief wage -earner 
was not qualified to support the family. 
g. What is the relation of friendly visiting to organized charity work? 

10. Give an example of how a friendly visitor instructed a family 

in the fundamentals of a proper diet and the care of money. 

11. Give some further examples of the constructive work of the friendly 

visitor representing the Associated Charities of Boston. 

12. What are two general types of charitable relief? 

13. What three classes of things does Mr. Bardwell believe an inmate 

has a right to expect of the almshouse? 

14. Describe an ideal almshouse building. 

15. What has the inmate of the almshouse a right to expect in the 

way of food and medical attendance? 

16. What ought the inmate to receive in the way of recreation? 

17. What twofold development has taken place in the field of insti- 

tutional relief? 

18. Why is division of labor necessary in the control of state insti- 

tutions? 

19. What is the proper field of a state board of charities? 

20. What is the political principle of administration at the basis of 

all state boards? 

21. What are the reasons for adopting this principle?. 

22. What is a financial federation? 

23. What can be said as to the educational and social gains from 

financial federation? 

24. What is the greatest obstacle to the success of the financial fed- 

eration? 

25. What is the conclusion of the American Association for Organizing 

Charity with respect to the future of the financial federation? 



CHAPTER XXV 
RURAL LIFE 

145. Why young people leave the farm ^ 

A fundamental factor in the problem of rural life is the tendency some causes 
of country people, and particularly of young country people, to re- °^ the city- 

ward drift, 
move to towns and cities. The causes for this cityward drift are com- 
plex, but in general they are grouped around the belief that the city 
offers more advantages and fewer dis advantages than does the 
country. Particularly where young people are concerned it is neces- 
sary to notice the influence of suggestion upon the cityward drift. 
This important influence, often overlooked, is described by Professor 
Groves in the following passage: 

The movement of population toward urban centers . . . deserves Suggestion 
study in the Hght of the modem teaching of psychology. . . . Sug- ^"^ ^^ ^^' 
gestions influence the child profoundly, and, of course, not less in 
the country than in the city. In many cases the Hfe of the rural 
child is penetrated more deeply by significant suggestions, because 
his life, since it is spent in a less complex environment, offers a smaller 
quantity of suggestions, or a greater uniformity of such influence. 
In any case, the suggestions that enter the mind of the rural child 
provide a basis for explaining later actions. . . . 

Every occupation provides reasons for discontent, but in the Significance 
country any dissatisfaction with the conditions of . . . farming is ° discon- 
likely to develop into discontent regarding the country itself, for the farming, 
occupation and the environment are hardly to be distinguished. In- 
deed, in leaving the occupation of farming, it is usually necessary 
for such people also to leave the country towns. . . . Suggestions, 
therefore, that farming does not pay, or is too laborious and unprofit- 

1 From Ernest R. Groves, Using the Resources of the Country Church. Association 
Press, New York, 1917; pp. 7-9, 14-15, 19-21. 

337 



33^ 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



The effect 
of prolonged 
toil. 



The effect 
of deferred 
or restricted 
recreation. 



The role of 
advertising. 



The lure of 
success in 
the city. 



able, translated into effective action, bring about a removal from 
both industry and locality. 

The early experiences on the farm may leave a suggestion of un- 
reasonable toil. Romantic youth cannot rest content with a vision 
of endless, lengthened hours of work and merely a hving. . . . Par- 
ents have at times been responsible for this conception of farming, 
because they have insisted upon having their sons and daughters 
work unreasonably during vacation and after school. The parent 
who looks backward upon a generation more given to long toil than 
this, may the more easily commit this mistake and teach his children 
to hate the farm and rural life. 

The adult of little imagination is likely to forget another source 
of experiences in youth that may suggest to the country boy attitudes 
that later provide a basis for discontent in regard to rural Hfe. The 
boy on the farm finds at times that his holiday and vacation are en- 
croached upon by needed labor. Weather and harvest conditions rob 
him of the pleasures that his viUage chum enjoys. Some definite plan 
for an outing or some greatly desired day of sport has to be given up 
that the crop may not be injured. Doubtless parents aUow these 
disappointments to happen with little reason, and looking at the 
matter from an adult point of view, do not regard the boys' feelings 
as of serious significance; and yet, in the light of modem psychology, 
we know that such experiences may build up a very significant hos- 
tility to the rural environment. ... 

Modem advertising is itself a supreme illustration of effective 
suggestion, and its development has been for the most part in the 
hands of urban interests. Such advertising has forced rural people 
to contrast their manner of hfe with urban conditions, and often 
with the restilt of discontent. They are drawn to the city on special 
occasions by alluring city pubhcity manipulated- with scientific 
skill by experts, and often return to their country homes dissatisfied 
because of false notions regarding the pleasures of the city. Of 
course this is more largely tme of young people and they are more 
open to suggestion. ... 

Spectacular success is largely dependent upon urban conditions of 
hfe, and such success obtains pubUc attention. Even in the country, 
the successes talked about are likely to be those made possible by 



RURAL LIFE 339 

city life. These are given space in the magaziacs and daily papers 
edited and pubHshed in the cities, and io they naturally occupy the 
minds of rural readers of such periodicals. The young man who 
feels the attraction of such enterprise . . . receives a suggestion that 
invites him cityward. When a community is itself represented by 
some former resident in some spectacular success, it is certain that 
many young men will question their future on the farm in that locality. 
Thus . . . the career of a man of fame may continue to act as a tradi- 
tion long after his death and still add to the rural migration. . . . 



146. Buying farms with land-bank loans ^ 

In brief, a solution of the rural problem requires that the country Making the 

be made so attractive that people suited to rural Hfe will be drawn ffrm attrac- 
tive, 
toward, rather than repelled by it. One way of making rural life 

attractive is to render farming more profitable, and one way of ren- 
dering farming more profitable is to extend the farmer adequate 
credit facihties. In 1916 Congress passed the Federal Farm Loan 
Act, the aim of which was the improvement of the financial as- The Federal 
pect of the farmers' life. In 192 1 the United States Department 
of Agriculture issued a report which was based on the experience of 1916. 
2,700 farmers who )iad borrowed money through the Federal Farm 
Loan Banks. The following is an extract from this report: 

An analysis of 78 per cent of the total number of loans from the Only a 
time of the organization of the Federal land banks to November 30, ^"^^ ^^ 
igig, indicates that only 13 per cent of the amount thus loaned amounts 
was for the purpose of purchasing farm land. It is probable, however, °^""* ^^""^ 
that even this small percentage represents an increase in the propor- pose of 
tion of loans for this purpose. An analysis of about one-third of the \'^J^^^ "^ 
loans made prior to November 30, 1918, indicates that only 8 per 
cent of the proceeds were used for bujdng farm land. If the propor- 
tion of loans is representative, within a year the proportion of the 
total number of outstanding loans made for buying farm land in- 
creased from 8 to 13 per cent. As this year was a period of rapid 
growth in the volume of business, the total amount of loans being 

1 From the United States Department of Agriculture, Bulletin No. 968. "Buy- 
ing Farms with Land-bank Loans," Washington, July 29, 1921; pp. 4-6, 8, lo-ii. 



Farm Loan 
Act of 



land. 



340 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



The landless 
farmer has 
received rel- 
atively 
little aid 
from the 
system. 



The hope 
for the 
future. 



A conclu- 
sion. 



nearly doubled, this increase appears to indicate a tendency toward 
the more extensive employment of the system as an aid in buying 
farm land. . . . 

By no means all of the loans made for buying farm land represent 
the borrowings of landless persons. . . . [Of a group of 2,054 bor- 
rowers who were studied,] almost exactly two-thirds of these borrow- 
ers owned land other than that which they were buying by the aid 
of the Federal farm-loan system, and only one-third belonged to the 
landless class. When one bears in mind that probably not more than 
15 per cent of the loans made by the Federal land banks have been 
for the purpose of buying farm land; that only one- third of these 
borrowers were landless . . . ; and, finally, that the total loans 
of the Federal land banks probably represent only about 8 per cent 
of the entire farm-mortgage indebtedness of the United States, it 
will be clear that the direct aid afforded by the system to the landless 
farmer in the acquisition of land has been relatively small. 

It should be noted, however, that it is a much larger proportion 
of the total new business. Moreover, not all landless farmers are 
persons who require unusually favorable credit facilities to aid them 
in buying farm land, for some landless farmers have wealth which 
may be used in bujdng land, and some landless persons who desire 
to buy farms are not farmers at all. 

It is probable that the relative use made by landless farmers will 
increase as the possibiUties of the Federal farm-loan system for 
financing the purchase of farms becomes better known among this 
class. The small proportion of the loans made to total mortgage 
indebtedness is largely owing to the newness of the system, and 
the rapid progress made in the past few years would seem to guar- 
antee that its relative importance as a source of farm loans will be 
greatly increased in the future. . . . 

It appears that the Federal farm-loan system has demonstrated 
its possibility as an aid to the landless farmer in acquiring land. Fur- 
ther analysis of its use by borrowers indicates that it provides con- 
ditions considerably more convenient for the buyer who must finance 
a large part of the purchase price on credit than are afforded by the 
great majority of private agencies engaged in farm- mortgage business. 
This, however, does not imply that the system could not be further 



RURAL LIFE 341 

modilied so LhaL it could be more readily employed in iinancing 
the purchase of farms by landless men of small capital. . . . 

Objection is sometimes raised to the use of Federal farm loans on Some hints 

the ground of their initial cost. [Possibly the system could be im- ^°ig"^'^o"^" 

proved in this regard, but it is also true that the inconvenience to intend to 

the borrower could be decreased if the latter were to observe certain "l^^^. ^^^ °^ 

the farm 
rules. For example,] the prospective purchaser of land who plans loan bank 

to buy with money, part of which he borrows from a Federal land system, 
bank, should give due consideration to the possibihty of delay in 
the completion of negotiations for a loan. Cases have occurred 
in which prospective buyers have made deposits on land to secure 
a contract of sale, which contract they have forfeited because they 
were unable to complete the purchase, money which they depended 
upon Federal land banks to furnish being held up for one reason or 
another. Frequently, delay is due to failure to comply with the 
requirements of the Federal land banks regarding the title to prop- 
erty; but the possibility of delay for other reasons, such as the im- 
practicability of the appraiser for the land bank promptly viewing 
the land, should be foreseen, and the contract of sale should be made 
to cover a sufficient time. 



147. The marketing of the farmer's produce^ 

Of the economic problems which confront the farmer, none has Social sig- 
a wider social significance than the effective marketing of his prod- "V ^^'^'^^ °, 
uce. It is commonly stated that "the farmer gets too Uttle for his marketing 
produce, while the ultimate consumer pays too much for it." Properly P™ ^^' 
understood, this statement is true, and it is admitted on all sides that 
there is urgent need of a marketing system which will give the farmer 
more for his produce, and at the' same time allow the consumer to 
secure such produce at a smaller cost and with less inconvenience 
than at present. In the following "Selection Mr. James E. Boyle 
discusses marketing from the farmer's point of view: 

I. Production. — [Recent market reports indicate a glut in the 
market of low-grade agricultural products, and a scarcity of high- 

' From the American Economic Review. Vol. xi, No. 2. June, 1921. (James E. 
Boyle, "Marketing of Agricultural Products"); pp. 209-213. 



342 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



The first 
step 

in market- 
ing is pro- 
ducing a 
better prod- 
uct 



and putting 
on the mar- 
ket a 
graded, 
standardized 
product. 



In many 

cases 

farmers 

should take 

hold of the 

storage 

question. 



Transporta- 
tion and 
marketing 
reform. 



grade agricultural products.] The first problem for the farmer, 
therefore, is not how to increase the crop yields, but how to produce 
more of the better grades, less of the poor grades. . . . The farmer 
ought to hmit the output in the sense that he keep the poorer stuff 
at home and put the better stuff on the market. . . . For by glutting 
the market with poor-grade stuff the farmer spoils his own market 
and does not benefit the consumer. . . . 

Grading is the second step in production. . . . Most farm com- 
modities have no Federal grades or state grades or any other kind 
of grades. Here Ues the first field for cooperative marketing by farm- 
ers, that they may put on the market a better product, graded and 
standardized. ... In other words, they [must] imitate manufac- 
turers of successful articles — have a brand to guarantee its integrity. 
When a good article, graded and standardized, is ready for market, 
the marketing problem is half solved. In no other way can sales 
f.o.b. be made. ... 

2. Storage. — Since most farm crops are produced only in the sum- 
mer but are consumed during a large part of the year, these crops 
must be stored somewhere by somebody. [At present, most storage 
is taken care of by middlemen, who, of course, charge for this service. 
However, constructive marketing demands that the farmer] take hold 
of the storage question. In some sections this means construction 
at railway stations of local storage warehouses for potatoes, for hay, 
and for various other crops. . . . With many commodities farmers 
ought to go into the terminal market and own storage — enough 
storage at least to learn the storage business from the inside. . . , 
Summarizing, farmers should consider storage as part of their market- 
ing program, and in case they are not adequately served they should 
devise ways and means of owning and operating more of their own 
storage. 

3. Transportation. — Most farm crops are produced many miles 
from the place where they are consumed. . . . Transportation is 
the most expensive Hnk in the marketing chain, from the time the 
product leaves the farm till it reaches the retailer's hands. [The great 
defect in our transportation system is bad country roads. This defect 
must be remedied] by cooperation in the widest sense of the term — 
cooperation of all the various interests, rural, urb^n, local, state, and 



RURAL LIFE 343 

national, until good roads are secured for the average farmer. The 
question of developing rural motor express lines is one for the farmer 
to face and solve. Transportation by rail is so vital in its social sig- 
nificance as to be compared with the arteries in the human body. . . . 

4. Credit. — Most farm crops are paid for in cash when taken by The farmer 

the dealer. But in most cases it is a matter of weeks or even months "J's^*^ profit- 
ably 
before these goods are passed on to the final consumer and paid for make a 

by him. FThe middleman steps between producer and consumer ^^ser use 

■' ^ ... of credit m 

and furnishes the credit needed at this point. But the farmer might marketing. 

be educated to perform this credit function.] He should be taught 

that somebody has to furnish credit to market his crops and must be 

paid for furnishing this credit; that wholesale credit is cheaper than 

retail credit; that modem banking machinery exists to furnish more 

and cheaper credit to the farmers . . . who have successfully taken 

the first two steps in marketing. . . . 

5. Merchandising. — [Lastly, the farmer will get more for his Importance 
goods if his position as a seller is strengthened."] Here is where the °! coopera- 

. . . . . tive selhng 

argument comes in for cooperative selling organizations among organiza- 
farmers. They are mobilized; they have power; they have a voice '^'*^'^' 
in marketing. . . . Being mobilized, . . . they are powerful bar- 
gainers, within the Umits of the law of supply and demand. . . . 

148. The viewpoint of the farm woman ^ 
In recent years we have heard much of the farmer's burdens, and The posi- 
of the necessity of Hghtening them. At least equally heavy, and H°"f°^ 
certainly less in the pubUc'mind, are the burdens which have rested woman, and 
upon the farm woman. The position of the farm woman is improving, . "^i^es- 
but the relative undesirabiHty of her position is indicated by the fact proving it. 
that more young women than young men are leaving the rural dis- 
tricts for the cities. In 1920 the United States Department of Agri- 
culture issued a report on the desira,bility of so arranging the work 
of the farm woman that she may secure for herself, her family, and 
the community the highest possible degree of health, happiness, and 
efficiency. The following extracts from this report indicate some of 
the points of view of farm women throughout the country: 

' From the United States Department of Agriculture, Department Circular 148. 
"The Farm Woman's Problems." Washington, November, 1920; pp. 14-16. 



344 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



The de- 
mand for 
normal liv- 
ing and 
working 
conditions. 



Need of 
machinery. 



Unwilling- 
ness to de- 
fer enjoy- 
ment. 



The need 
for leisure 
time. 



The craving 
for time to 
give to the 
care of the 
children. 



Briefly stated, here are some of the points of view expressed: 

Farm women love the country and do not want to give up its free- 
dom for city Hfe. What they do want is normal Uving and working 
conditions in the farm home. "The country offers greater oppor- 
tunity for satisfying Ufe than the city, and country women have 
as great capacity as city women for the enjoyment of life, but are 
more handicapped with routine which absorbs their time and 
strength." 

Because of the shortage of help prevalent throughout the country, 
women consider it especially important that modern equipment and 
machinery, so far as possible, do the work which would otherwise 
faU to women. . . . 

The farm woman does not wish to put up with an unsatisfactory 
to-day in the anticipation of something better to-morrow or in her 
old age, but wants a chance to enjoy to-day as the only possession 
she is sure of. She feels that she owes it to herself and her family 
to "keep informed, attractive, and in harmony with life as the years 
advance." 

Women realize that no amount of scientific arrangement or labor- 
saving appliances wiU of themselves make a home. It is, the woman's 
personal presence, influence, and care that make the home. House- 
keeping is a business as practical as farming and with no romance in 
it; home-making is a sacred trust. "A woman wants time salvaged 
from housekeeping to create the right home atmosphere for her chil- 
dren, and to so enrich their home surroundings that they may gain 
their ideals of beauty and their tastes for books and music not from 
the shop windows, the movies, the billboards, or the jazz band, but 
from the home environment." . . . 

The farm woman knows that there is no one who can take her 
place as teacher and companion of her children during their early 
impressionable years and she craves more time for their care. She 
feels the need of making the farm home an inviting place for the 
young people of the family and their friends, and of promoting the 
recreational and educational advantages of the neighborhood in 
order to cope with the various forms of city allurements. . . . 
Farm women want to broaden their outlook and keep up with the 
advancement of their children "not by courses of study, but by bring- 



RURAL LIFE 345 

ing progressive ideas, methods, and facilities into the everyday work 
and recreation of the home environment." 

The farm woman feels her isolation from neighbors as well as Isolation 
from hbraries and other means of keeping in touch with outside Ufe. I^'^^^^ ^'^^' 

^ ° ily upon 

She counts her favorite farm paper or woman's magazine among her the farm 
valued aids. She beheves that farm women should come together *°™^"- 
more often in organized groups to learn from each other and to gain 
a mastery of their problems through united effort. "The farmer," 
she declares, "deals much with other men. The children form 
associates at school, but we, because of our narrow range of duties 
and distance from neighbors, form the habit of staying at home and, 
to a greater degree than is commonly supposed, feel the need for con- 
genial companionship." . . . 

The five outstanding problems [indicated in the study conducted The cut- 
by the Department of Agriculture] are: problems of 

(i) Shortening the working day of the average farm woman, the farm 

(2) Lessening the amount of heavy manual labor she now performs. ^°"^'^"- 

(3) Bringing about higher standards of comfort and beauty for 
the farm home. 

(4) Safeguarding the health of the farm family, and especially 
the health of the mother and growing child. 

(5) Developing and introducing money-yielding home industries 
where necessary in order to make needed home improvements. 



149. The consolidated rural school ^ 

Of great importance in the educational and social Hfe of country Nature and 

people is the movement toward the consolidation of rural schools, ^j^,, move- 

" Consolidation of schools" is the term applied when two or more i"cnt to 

school districts are made into a single district, one school in one build- ^^^^^l 

ing replacing two or more small schools in several buildings. The schools. 

two primary motives in the movement are, first the desire to secure 

better educational faciUties, and second the desire to decrease the 

cost of education in the school district. Some of the advantages of 

the consolidation of rural schools are described in the following ex- 

• From the United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Education, 
Bulletin, 1Q14, No. 30. "Consolidation of Rural Schools," etc. Washington, igi4; 
pp. 60-61, 63-65, 68. 



346 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Consolida- 
tion facili- 
tates the 
supervision 
of schools. 



The classi- 
fication of 
pupils 
allowed by 
consolida- 
tion is 
beneficial. 



The advan- 
tage of the 
longer reci- 
tation peri- 
ods made 
possible by 
consolida- 
tion. 



tract from a bulletin of the Bureau of Education in the United States 
Department of the Interior: 

One of the great educational advantages of the consoUdated 
school comes through the possibilities of increased supervision without 
additional expenses. . . . Outside of New England and New York 
the rural supervising ofi&cer is the county superintendent, and in only 
a comparatively few counties are assistant superintendents or super- 
visors employed. Under average conditions a county superintendent 
can not visit his schools more than once in a year, and then the visits 
must be short. In many counties it is a physical impossibility on 
account of the size of the counties, the poor roads, the number of 
schools, and the length of the term, for the superintendent to visit 
all schools each year. . . . Much of the superintendent's time is 
lost in traveUng from one school to another. This time is saved 
with consolidation. . . . 

In the ideal school, children are grouped in classes, each class con- 
taining as nearly as possible children of the same degree of advance- 
ment. In the ordinary one-teacher schools there are not enough chil- 
dren of the same degree of, advancement to form classes large enough 
for the inspiration coming from class work and the friendly rivalry 
between pupils. . . . The class work in the class of from i to 5 chil- 
dren is not interesting. In classes of from 8 to 20 it is interesting. 
Boys and girls enjoy going to school more; they "do" better and they 
attend more regularly, because of their greater interest. Attendance 
at consolidated schools, even where transportation is not furnished, 
is as a rule better than at the old district schools. . , . 

The excessive time allotted to study in the rural school, in propor- 
tion to the time given to recitation, is one of the objectionable features 
of the school. Few rural schools have sufficient, proper, and profitable 
reading material to give to the pupils during this long period. Few 
pupils can spend profitably the time in study because in the short 
recitation period the teacher has no time to direct extensive 
study. . . . Consolidation of schools makes fewer classes to each 
teacher, and consequently makes longer recitation periods possi- 
ble. ... 

The ordinary teacher in the one-room country school can teach 
Uttle but reading, speUing, writing, arithmetic, geography, and a 



RURAL LIFE 347 

little history, on account of the difficult conditions under which she Consolida- 
is working. It is, however, very desirable that music, drawing, ^'°" allows 

<=> ' ' -' . more sub- 

sanitation, manual training, household arts, and agriculture be taught, jects to be 

both for their general culture and their utilitarian values, and also ^^^S'^t- 

for their value as vitahzing agents in the school curriculum. . . . 

[These additional subjects cannot be taught in the one-teacher school, 

but can be taught when consolidation provides] a school of three 

or more teachers. . . . 

"Possibly one of the greatest results accomplished by the con- Consolida- 
sohdation of the rural schools is the estabhshment of the township *^!°" ^" . 
high schools. Students who could not have entered a high school had high school, 
they been compelled to leave home, attend these schools, and, in most 
cases, graduate from them. . . . [For example,] the great increase of 
students attending the high schools in Indiana in the last two years 
is due in great part to the work of consoh dated schools." . . . 

The added value of the consoUdated school over the small one- Socializing 
teacher school as a socializing agency can hardly be estimated. The ^ ^^ t? 
larger school brings its pupils into contact with several teachers and tion. 
a larger group of children than in the small school. . . . This con- 
tact with many children widens their visions and gives to them a 
breadth of view impossible in the small district. . . . 

One of the advantages of the consolidated school is the possibility Consolida- 
of maintaining a stable teaching force. ... A permanent teaching tjf'^i^™' ^ 
force is essential in making a school efficient and satisfactory. It provement 
is particularly desirable that a good principal be obtained . . . and ? r^ ^^'^ 
retained as long as his work is satisfactory. [This can be done in 
the case of the consoUdated school more often than in the case of 
the smaller school, for where schools have been consolidated it is 
possible to pay teachers larger salaries, while, in addition, the higher 
standards of the consoUdated school are naturally attractive to high- 
grade teachers.] 

150. The development of community spirit in the country^ 

The realization that there is need for a more wholesome social 

life among farmers has of recent years stimulated the development 

1 From the Wisconsin Country Life Conference, Third Annual Report. Madison, 
Wis., 1913; pp. 111-113, 115-118. 



348 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



The school 
and the 
church as 
social cen- 
ters in rural 
districts. 



The estab- 
lishment of 
a school- 
house 



in a rural 
district in 
Wisconsin. 



A Sunday 
School is 
organized 
and allowed 
to use the 
school- 
house. 



Changed 
viewpoint 
toward a 
wider use of 
the school 
plant. 



of community spirit in rural districts. The nucleus of rural social 
life is almost always either the school or the church. On the whole, 
the rural school is developing more rapidly than is the rural church, 
and in many sections social Hfe has tended to develop around the 
school rather than about the church. The use of the rural school 
as a social center may be illustrated by the following account of the 
Mendota Beach schoolhouse in Dane County, Wis.: 

[Formerly there was no schoolhouse in this vicinity, i.e. the rural 
district between Madison and Middleton, Wis.,], and as recently 
as I goo the state superintendent of public instruction was obliged 
to exercise the power given him by law and compel the organization 
of a school district, the engaging of a teacher, and the erection of 
a school building. 

[When the schoolhouse was built and] opened for school purposes 
in 1 90 1, children from the neighborhood twelve years old and over 
attended, who up to this time had had no schooling. Grown men of 
the neighborhood, unable to read or write the EngHsh language, 
although reared here from childhood, have told how they were too 
far from school to attend in the winter, and in summer they were 
needed on the farm. ... 

Newcomers in the neighborhood were insisting upon religious 
instruction for their children, and were asking why a Sunday School 
couldn't be opened in the schoolhouse. It was a new proposal and 
at first did not meet with favor. . . . [But at length better counsel 
prevailed, and] seventeen persons, many of them children, met at 
the schoolhouse on a Sunday afternoon and organized the Mendota 
Beach Sunday School. That first Sunday it was agreed, and the 
position has ever since been consistently adhered to, that the meetings 
should be strictly undenominational; that persons of any creed or 
no creed would be welcome; that the purpose of our gatherings would 
be to make us better neighbors and better citizens, and that we would 
make a study of the Bible to find in it whatever we could that would 
help us in this purpose. . . . 

At each annual school meeting the electors present vote on whether 
the schoolhouse shall be opened to the Sunday School and other 
community meetings. There was some hesitancy about authorizing 
these uses the first time the electors considered the question, but 



RURAL LIFE 349 

at subsequent meetings the very objectors have declared that in their 
opinion the uses to which the schoolhouse has been put outside of 
school hours have been of larger value to the community than the 
regular school work. 

At the time these meetings were started there were but one or two Some effects 
musical instruments in the whole community, almost no singing °I j 
ability, and only one person who would attempt to play the organ viewpoint, 
at the meetings. A singing teacher was engaged from the city, and 
on Monday evenings for some twenty weeks the young people gath- 
ered at the schoolhouse and were taught to sing. To-day there is 
music in the day school, music at the Sunday School, and some musical 
instrument — violin, organ or piano — in nearly every home. . . . 

The school library had only some fifty volumes of children's books. Library im- 
A Library Association was organized two years ago and a "one hun- P''°'^<^"^^" • 
dred volume" State Traveling Library is now regularly to be found 
at the schoolhouse with the teacher as librarian. . . . 

The young people of the neighborhood have come forward as an The school- 
active social force. They first learned to sing. Then they arranged °^^^. 'T 
for a series of open social and hterary meetings at the schoolhouse. used for so- 
Programs have been arranged with music, declamation, and debate, noses*""^ 
and live topics have been discussed. The young people and even the 
grown-ups are beginning to feel confidence in themselves. "Woman 
Suffrage," "Advantages of Country Over City Living," "Good 
Roads," "The Silo," "Alfalfa," "How to Make the Hen Productive," 
are some of the subjects that have been discussed. . . . 

Farm tenants, farm owners, business and professional people from Some re- 
the city who have moved into the community, and artisans and 
laborers meet together on a common footing at the schoolhouse and 
get each other's viewpoint. . . . [The opening of the schoolhouse 
to community uses has had great value socially]. . . . The folks 
are all neighbors now. . . . They move together and have a sense 
of individual and community strength in the consciousness of 
sympathy and union. 



3SO READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Questions on th,e foregoing Readings 

1. What, in general, is the cause of the cityward drift? 

2. Why does discontent with farming usually mean discontent with 

rural life? 

3. Explain the effect of deferred or restricted recreation upon dis- 

content with rural life. 

4. How may advertising add to* rural discontent? 

5. What is the primary aim of the Federal Farm Loan Act? 

6. What per cent of the amounts loaned under the act have been used 

for the purpose of buying farm land? 

7. What are some of the rules which should be observed by persons 

intending to make use of the Federal Farm Loan Bank system? 

8. What is the social significance of the problem of marketing farm 

produce? 
g. What is the first step in marketing? 

10. What should be the attitude of the farmer toward the storage 

question? 

11. How can the farmer's transportation needs best be met? 

12. How might farmers strengthen their position as sellers? 

13. Compare young country men and young country women with 

regard to the tendency to move to the city. 

14. Explain why the farm woman needs more leisure time. 

15. Explain why isolation bears more heavily upon the farm woman 

than upon the men and children in rural districts. 

16. What are the outstanding problems of the farm woman? 

17. What is meant by the term "consolidation of rural schools"? 

18. What are the two primary motives in the movement to consolidate 

rural schools? 

19. How does consolidation allow of more adequate supervision' of 

schools? 

20. What is the advantage of consolidation from the standpoint of 

recitation periods? 

21. How does consolidation permit the curriculum of the rural school 

to be enlarged? 

22. Name two rural institutions around which social life may develop. 

23. Describe the beginnings of a school in the rural district between 

Madison and Middleton, Wis. 

24. What were some of the results following the use of the school- 

house for community purposes? 

25. What was the effect of this wider use of the schoolhouse upon 

the development of sympathy and cooperation in the community? 



CH.\PTER XXVI 

EDUCATION 
151. Standardization of schools within the state ^ 

Occasionally it is suggested that all of our educational facilities The move- 
ought to be so standardized and coordinated as to form one great ™^°^ ^P" 
system. At the present time, most authorities oppose this suggestion ; standardiza- 
on the other hand, there is a general feeUng that it is desirable to ^° of^edu- 
bring aU of the educational faciUties of a single state imder some dlities 

sort of centrahzed control. There are a number of states in which "^^V^ 

state. 

the reorganization and centraUzation of the schools is a problem of 
immediate interest. At the request of the Arizona School Officials' 
Association, the United States Bureau of Education in 1916 conducted An educa- 
an educational survey of Arizona. The foUownng is the Bureau's ^°°^ ^^' 
summar)' of reconunendations relating to pubhc elementary' and Arizona, 
secondary schools in that state: 

I. Centralization of the state school system, placing the responsi- Centraliza- 
bility of the administration of the public-school system definitely upon *^°° ° ^ ^i 
the state board of education and the state department of education work- system rec- 
ing in cooperation with the county boards of education atui school-dis- °™™^° 
trict trustees. 

The state should exercise a sufficient degree of administrative 
control to assure that schools are maintained wherever needed and 
that all schools are efficient. This can be done best through the 
following organization: 

I. For the state, a state board of education and a state depart- 
ment of education, the state superintendent of pubhc instruction 
being the executive officer of the state board and the actual head 
of the department. 

1 From the United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Education. 
Bulletin, 1917, No. 44. "Educational Conditions in Arizona." Washington, 1918; 
pp. 158-162. 

351 



352 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



State board 
of education 
to be reor- 
ganized. 



Distribution 
of the 
state school 
fund. 



Higher 
standards 
for teachers. 



Rearranged 
courses of 
study. 



2. For each county, a county board of education to assume general 
control over the schools in the county, with the county superintendent 
as its executive officer. 

3. For each local district, urban and rural, a local board of 
trustees. . . . 

2. Reorganization of the state board of education conferring upon 
it enlarged powers. . . . 

3. Provision for a nonpolitical state superintendent who shall be 
the head of an enlarged and more effective state department of 
education. ... 

4. Provision for county control of county school funds through 
county boards of education and nonpolitical county superintendents. . . . 

5. Reorganization of the method of apportioning state funds on a 
basis which recognizes county and local effort. . . . 

[In the distribution of the state school fund,] each county should 
receive a fixed sum for every teacher employed in pubhc elementary 
and secondary schools, the remainder of the state school fund being 
apportioned to the counties on the basis cl the aggregate at- 
tendance. ... 

6. Requirement of a higher standard of general and professional 
education for teachers. . . . The state shoxild require that all new 
teachers employed after a certain date should have general education 
not less than the equivalent of a four-year, standard, high-school 
course and a stated amount of professional work in education, con- 
sisting of classroom instruction in a recognized institution for training 
teachers. . . . 

8. Rearranged courses of study especially to meet the conditions in 
one-teacher schools. 

The state course of study should be arranged in such a way as to 
make it adaptable to one-teacher schools, to two-teacher schools 
and to schools with three or more teachers. The course should be 
gradually revised to make it fit more closely the conditions peculiar 
to the state. . . . 



EDUCATION 



353 



152. Financing the school system^ 

It has always been more or less difficult to secure the funds neces- 
sary to equip and maintain our schools. In recent years this diffi- 
culty has been increased by two factors. In the first place, the cost 
of materials, equipment, and teachers has increased; in the second 
place, the rapid increase in the number of school activities has neces- 
sitated larger and larger sums of money. The adequate support of 
the schools is thus a problem of pressing importance. Some of the 
aspects of this problem may be illustrated from the following sum- 
mary of a survey of the public schools of the city of Columbia, South 
CaroUna, issued by the United States Bureau of Education in 1918: 

1. The pubKc school system of Columbia was organized in 1883 
only after a hard struggle to overcome those who protested against 
"taxing one man's property to educate another man's child." 

2. For 15 years after the organization of the system no provision 
was made for the erection of school buildings. No adequate building 
program was undertaken until 1905. The bonded indebtedness for 
buildings for school purposes now reaches but $273,000. 

3. Tax levies for school maintenance have been begrudgingly 
allowed. 

4. Of the 213 cities of the United States having a population of 
30,000 or more, Columbia stands third from the bottom in the propor- 
tion of the total annual expenditure of the city which goes to the sup- 
port of the schools. Her proportionate school expenditure would 
have to be increased one-half to bring her up to the average of the 
cities of this country. . . . 

6. If Columbia doubled her school maintenance and then added 
to this $3 per pupil she would just reach the average per pupil in 
average daily attendance expended by 1,233 cities of the United 
States having a population of 5,000 ^r more. She will have to in- 
crease her expenditure by 42 per cent to reach the average expended 
per pupil in average daily attendance by the cities of the South 
Atlantic States having a population of 5,000 or more. 



Why the 
problem of 
financing 
the schools 
is increas- 
ingly im- 
portant. 



The public 
school sys- 
tem of 
Columbia, 
South 
Carolina. 



Columbia 
spends rela- 
tively little 
on her 
schools. 



A compari- 
son. 



' From the United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Education. 
Bulletin, 1918, No. 28. "The Public Schools of Columbia, South Carolina." Wash- 
ington, 1918; pp. 28-30. 



354 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



The tax 
rate is low, 
and 



the city 
is rich. 



A campaign 
for more 
funds is rec- 
ommended. 



Methods of 
carrying on 
the cam- 
paign. 



Conclusion. 



7. The true general tax rate of Columbia for all purposes is very 
low; excepting three it has the lowest true tax rate of the cities of 
the United States which have a population of 30,000 or over. 

8. Columbia is one of the twelve richest cities of the United 
States, having an estimated property value of $1,836 per capita of 
population. 

9. The school commissioners should take the initiative in in- 
forming the pubHc in forceful ways of the needs of the schools, and 
of the service they are rendering, in order that adequate maintenance 
may be secured. . . . 

[It is not enough formally to request an advance in the tax rate.] 
Those responsible must first present their case to the people who 
make up the community. . . . 

The estabUshed method of winning the active attention of a com- 
munity is that of pubHcity, and no opportunity for informing the 
people about their schools — their aims, their work, their cost, their 
problems — should ever be let go by. Through the columns of the 
local press, through bulletins issued on special phases of school work, 
through talks before civic bodies on matters pertaining to education, 
through exhibits of pupils' work which wiU arouse the collective 
interest and pride of the parents, through the medium of the parent- 
teachers' associations, and in many other ways easily discoverable, 
there can be kept up a constant process of dissemination of news 
about the schools. 

Furthermore, it must not be overlooked that the parents of the 
children who are in school are the people who make up the com- 
munity group and who determine what tax-levying bodies shall 
do. It ought not to be a difi&cult matter to convince the parents 
of the educational needs of their children, nor of the value of what 
the schools are doing, nor of the necessity for concerted action to 
secure relief. ... 



153. Compulsory school attendance ^ 

For many years one of the problems confronting the school au- 
thorities has had to do with the attendance at school of children 

1 From the United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Education. 
Bulletin, 1914, No. 2. "Compulsory School Attendance." Washington, 1914; 
pp. 12, 16-17, 20, 22-24. 



EDUCATION 



355 



of school age. As late as 1890 only twenty-seven states had com- 
pulsory attendance laws, though by 19 14 forty-three states had en- 
acted this type of legislation. The enactment of such legislation 
has met wth considerable opposition in some states, and in num- 
erous cases the laws passed are defective. Some of the phases of 
the school attendance problem are outlined in the following ex- 
tract from a report of the United States Bureau of Education: 

Notwithstanding the fact that most states have enacted com- 
pulsory attendance laws, many of them fail to enroll aU the children 
coming within the provision of the law and to secure regular attend- 
ance on the part of those enrolled. This, however, does not mean 
that compulsory attendance is a failure, as those states that have 
such laws enroU a greater percentage of children and have a higher 
average of attendance than those states that have no such laws. 
Cities that have recently made trial for the first time of compelling 
attendance report excellent results. . . . 

One of the most difficult problems to solve in enforcing the com- 
pulsory attendance laws is that of compeUing children from poverty- 
stricken homes to attend school. ... To compel the attendance 
of children of parents who are too poor to keep them in school, some 
states have taken decided steps. In Michigan if a parent can not 
support a child of compulsory school age, the board of education 
may grant such relief as will enable the child to attend school dur- 
ing the entire school year, not more than $3 a week to be paid a 
family for one child, nor more than $6 a week for the children of 
any one family. ... All cases must necessarily be thoroughly in- 
vestigated. In Cincinnati the board of education has made arrange- 
ments with the local associated charities to have all cases reported 
by truant officers investigated by the trained social workers of that 
organization. Relief is afforded only when recommended by 
them. . . . 

To enroU children of compulsory school age is but the first step 
in enforcing compulsorj'^-attendance laws; the next step is to secure 
regular attendance. ... If pupils are to be promoted promptly 
and regularly, and if the schools are to reach their fvill measure 
of efficiency, the school officials must not only enroll all the children 
of compulsory school age, but must also secure regular attendance 



Develop- 
ment of 
compulsory 
school 
attendance 
laws. 



Attendance. 



The ques- 
tion of 
compelling 
the attend- 
ance of the 
children of 
poor par- 
ents. 



Securing 

regular 

attendance. 



356 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Need for 
officials 
charged 
with the 
enforcement 
of the law. 



Determining 
the proper 
age limit. 



Summary. 



for the whole term. [This is so because the more irregular the 
attendance of the pupil, the slower the rate of promotion.] . . . 

It is obvious that no law can be enforced without proper of- 
ficials charged with its enforcement. . . . State agents are un- 
doubtedly of great assistance in the proper enforcement of the 
attendance law. At present in most states the state department has 
no direct way of knowing whether more than a perfunctory attempt 
has been made to carry out the provisions of the law. . . . 

One other problem difficult to solve in the enactment of com- 
pulsory attendance laws is that of determining the proper age Umits. 
The tendency at present is to make 14 or 15 years the age at which 
a child may withdraw from school, provided he has certain educa- 
tional attainments. The standard is low in most states, only a few 
requiring so much as the completion of the fifth grade. The tendency, 
however, is to strengthen the required educational quahfications 
regardless of age limit. ... 

[In summary, the most important factors in the enforcement 
of the compulsory school attendance laws are as follows:] 

1. An annual school census taken by the school authorities of 
the city or district. 

2. Prompt reports by teachers of pubhc and private schools of 
all absentees not legally excused. 

3. Properly qualified attendance officers, who give all their time 
and attention to the enforcement of the law, and also school visitors 
in cities having a large foreign or Negro population. 

4. State agents to see that the laws are enforced. 
Special schools for truants and pupils irregular in attendance. 
Relief for indigent parents having children of compulsory 



S- 

6. 

age. 

7- 



A definite annual period of attendance. 

8. Well-enforced child-labor laws. 

9. Employment certificates made to employer and not to be used 
by child when seeking a new position. 

10. Proper penalties on all concerned in the enforcement of the 
law. 



EDUCATION 



357 



154. Problems in vocational education * 

Vocational education in schools is a comparatively recent develop- 
ment, involving a large number of unsolved problems. Some of 
the questions raised by the vocational education movement hav« 
been formulated by the United States Bureau of Education as 
follows: 

Problem i. To what extent do studies designed for liberal educa- 
tion "function" [^i.e. realize their intended ends3 as to their con- 
tent in various fields of vocational training? For example, do Latin, 
ancient history, and algebra "function" at all in the training of 
the physician for his vocation? Do mechanical drawing and science 
"function" in the making of the bookkeeper? Does the study of 
music and art make any recognizable contribution toward the effi- 
ciency, on the vocational side, of the machinist, the farmer, or the 
cook? 

Problem 2. To what extent is it expedient and desirable that the 
beginnings of systematic vocational education shall be postponed 
until after a definite degree of general or Mberal education has been 
attained? For example, if we assume that pupils are required to 
attend school until 14 years of age, is it expedient or desirable that 
'from 12 to 14 a program consisting in part of vocational and in part 
of Hberal education shall be made available? 

Problem 3. To what extent and under what conditions do the 
results in skiU, knowledge, appreciation, and ideals (or of practical 
experience in general) in one occupational field constitute an asset 
for entrance into another? To what extent can (^these results] 
be utiHzed as a basis for systematic training toward another occupa- 
tional field? 

[]For example]: (a) To what extent does expertness in running 
constitute an asset in learning to swipi? (b) To what extent can a 
thoroughgoing education in the practice of medicine be utilized 
when the doctor wishes to become a farmer? (c) How far can pro- 
fessional competency as a bookkeeper be regarded as an asset when 

* From the United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Education. 
Bulletin, 1916, No. 21. "Vocational Secondary Education." Washington, 1916; 
pp. 143-144. 146, 151-153- 



Status of 
vocational 
education. 



Relation of 
general or 
liberal to 
vocational 
education. 



When 

should 

vocational 

education 

begin? 



The prob- 
lem of 
transferring 
the results 
of voca- 
tional edu- 
cation. 



Some 
examples. 



358 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Problem of 
dividing 
attention 
between 
technical 
and practi- 
cal training. 



At what 
age should 
home-making 
education 
begin? 



the bookkeeper wishes to become a machinist? (d) If a man has 
been well trained as a machinist, to what extent can such training 
be drawn upon in equipping him to be a house carpenter? . . . 

Problem 5. What, at any given stage of vocational training for 
the industrial occupations, should be the proportion of time and 
energy of the pupil given, respectively, to technical instruction 
and to practical training? Extreme and opposed examples of the 
problem under consideration are the following: In the making of 
a m.achinist, a boy beginning at the age of 14 might devote his first 
two years very largely to such technical studies as drawing, mathe- 
matics . . . and . . . give a minimum amount of attention to pro- 
ductive shopwork of a thoroughly practical nature. Between Jiis 
sixteenth and eighteenth years the proportion of time given to his 
shopwork might be very greatly increased, with a diminution of the 
amount of attention given to technical work. On the other hand, a 
program of training might be devised by which during the first year 
he might give from 60 to 80 per cent of his time to productive shop- 
work, with relatively only a small amount of technical instruction 
related to it. In his later years the proportion of time given to 
shopwork might be diminished, and the proportion of time given to 
technical instruction might be greatly increased. . . . 

Problem 6. At what age is efficient homemaking education most 
practicable? It is quite probable that there must be differentiation 
of groups for homemaking education, according to age as affected 
by the occupations followed. For example, it may be doubted 
whether girls who from 14 to 21 years of age will be wage-earners 
in occupations not related to the home, and who will be living either 
at home as boarders or in boarding houses, can efficiently respond 
to vocational homemaking education until somewhat late in their 
wage-earning careers. ... In the case of girls not contemplating 
wage-earning careers, but who design to remain at home, systematic 
vocational education might well take place during the high-school 
period. . . . 



EDUCATION 359 



155. Wider use of the school plant ^ 

Formerly our public schoolhouses were open only during the The begin- 
conventional school term, and for children of legal school age. Since "\"P °^ ^^^ 

wider use 
the beginning of the present century, however, there has been a of the 

growing use of the school plant for community activities. This wider ^^^°'^^ p^^^^ 

. . movement, 

use of the school plant has mcreased the variety and scope of educa- 
tional activities, and has greatly enlarged the number of individuals 
who come under educational influences. Some phases of this move- 
ment are treated in the following extract from a report of the United 
States Bureau of Education: 

QTo what type of social activities has the wider use of the school Types of 
plant movement given rise?"] The three most prevalent activities ^'i'^l^'^^^ 

which figure 

are some form of athletics, clubs for young people, and lectures, in the move- 
while the least common, as would have been expected, are the civic i"^^*- 
and the general social occasions. A school which is the scene of fre- 
quent mass meetings, banquets, and neighborhood parties has reached 
a completeness of socialization that is as yet not so very common. 
Athletics, club-work, and rooms for reading or quiet games are 
regular activities in 90 or more per cent of the cases reported. . . . 
Lectures and entertainments, while . . . [prevalent], do not stand 
so high in regularity, because of their popularity in schools whose 
extension activity is still in its early and rather miscellaneous stage. 
Games and clubs are naturally not started until a series of meetings 
or events can be arranged. The high degree of regularity attained 
by social dancing indicates that it [occupies a strong position in the 
extension movement.] . . . 

The length of the school extension season in the different cities The school 
varies greatly. In a few it lasts throughout the year; in a small extension 

season. 

number, October and April mark its Hmits; in many places it does 
not get well under way until some time in November, and gradually 
tapers ofif in March. . . . 

Brief mention only can be made of the growth in activities in 
public schoolhouses during the interval between the afternoon dis- 

* From the United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Education. 
Bulletin, 1915, No. 28. "The Extension of Pubhc Education." Washington, 
1915; pp. 41-42, 49. 51-52. 



360 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Wider use 
of the 
school plant 
before 

6 P.M. 



Letting reg- 
ulations. 



Generous 
attitude of 
the JoUet 
(111.) Board 
of Educa- 
tion. 



Activities 
which the 
Board will 
favor and 
partially 
support. 



missal of classes and nightfall. In high schools this has long been 
a favorite period for meetings of student societies and athletic con- 
tests both in and out of doors, and now a similar practice has got 
under way in the elementary schools. . . . For example, in Grand 
Rapids, Mich., parochial classes in domestic science use the pubHc 
schools on certain afternoons from 4 to 6 o'clock, and three times 
a week the parents' council meets at 3:30 p.m. In Evanston, lU., 
a children's class in gymnastic dancing supported by membership 
fees, a children's orchestra, the room basketball teams, and several 
other pupil organizations keep school buildings open after the ordi- 
nary closing time. These are samples only of the miscellaneous 
afternoon occasions which are developing spontaneously in the 
schoolhouses of many cities. . . . 

The marked increase of late years in miscellaneous evening occa- 
sions in school buildings is largely due to the new spirit which has 
appeared in school letting rules. It does not pervade all of them, 
but each year sees an extension of its vogue. It is well expressed in 
the following regulations (published March, 1914) recently adopted 
by the JoUet (lU.) Board of Education: 

In order that the pubhc school plant may serve a wider community 
use, the board of school inspectors wiU bear the expense of light- 
ing, heat, and janitor service when the school is used for the 
following purposes: 

(i) Adult clubs or organizations for the discussion of educational, 
civic, and community problems. 

(2) Public lectures, entertainments, or indoor recreational or 
educational activities. 

(3) Club work among young people — Hterary, musical, dramatic, 
social — under supervision arranged by the school authorities. 

(4) Political discussions may be permitted when announced in 
advance, and equal opportunity given for presentation of both 
sides of the question, in accord with the American spirit of fair 
play. . . . 



EDUCATION 361 



156. The money value of education ^ 

The most valuable result of right education is the broadening, Education 

deepening, and refining of human life. This result can no more be '^ "°'' , . 

measured by doUars and cents than can truth, self-sacrifice, and by dollars 

love; nevertheless, the material and measurable rewards of educa- f"^ cents, 

' ' but it IS 

tion should be made plain to those who are either inchned or obUged nevertheless 
to judge an educational system in terms of money return. Anything ""Portant 
which will show that education promotes industrial efficiency and its money 
increases material wealth will help to secure the support of certain ^^ "^' 
types of taxpayers and numerous classes of pupils. In the follow- 
ing extract the United States Bureau of Education discusses the 
money value of education: 

An investigation of the educational advantages enjoyed by the who's Who 
8,000 persons mentioned in Who's Who in America, for the years *" America. 
1899-1900, brought out the following facts: Out of the nearly five 
milUon uneducated men and women in America, only 31 have been 
sufficiently successful in any kind of work to obtain a place among 
the 8,000 leaders catalogued in this book. Out of 33,000,000 people 
with as much as a common-school education, 808 were able to win 
a place in the Hst, while out of only 2,000,000 with high-school 
training, 1,245 have manifested this marked efficiency, and out of 
1,000,000 with college or university training, 5,768 have merited 
this distinction. . . . 

In interpreting the results of this study, as in the interpretation Despite 

of all of the following comparative studies of those who have educa- friodifying 

influences, 
tion with those who do not have it, let it be understood that the the success 

remarkable superiority of the educated must not be attributed en- °(,^^^ \"^'' 

vidual de- 

tirely to their education. Those who receive education are a selected pends largely 
lot to begin with. Their parents were, as a rule, persons of more "P°" . 
than average efficiency, and hence were able to keep their children 
in school; they were more intelligent than the average, and there- 
fore induced or required their children to remain in school. The 
child himself probably had more than average ability, else he would 

' From the United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Education. 
Bulletin, igi?, No. 22. "The Money Value of Education." Washington, 1917; 

pp. IS, 17, 23, 31-33- 



The edu- 
cated man 
fails less 
often than 
does his un- 
educated 
fellow. 



Every day 
at school 
worth nine 
dollars. 



362 READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 

have wearied of the intellectual labor of the school and would have 
left it eariy. . . . Other influences also doubtless modify the result; 
but after due allowance for aU these factors is made there remains 
still a large margin of superior efficiency on the part of the educated 
that one must credit to education. . . . 

[_A study conducted by H. J. Hapgood] brought out especially 
the large per cent of successes among coUege-bred men in responsible, 
high-salaried positions, and the comparatively small per cent of 
successes on the part of the non- college-bred men. He says: "A 
notable instance of the value of college men is furnished by the 
Western Electric Co., which began employing college men about 
ten years ago, and has found that 90 per cent of them make good, 
as compared with 10 per cent of the men who enter business on 
leaving the high or grammar school. ..." 

[Studies conducted in Springfield (Mass.), and Brooklyn,] repre- 
sent a fair average of what may be expected as a result of a good 
school system. . . . The life expectancy of the average high-school 
boy is more than 40 years. If we [assume, as statistics show that 
we have a right to assume, an] average annual salary of $1,000 for 
a period of 40 years, and compare it with the illiterate laborer's 
salary of $500 per year for the same length of time, we can see how 
richly the child and the community are repaid for each day the child 
attends school. 

$1,000 for 40 years equals $40,000 

$500 for 40 years equals 20,000 

Difference ; $20,000 

Twelve years of 180 days each, or a total of 2,160 days of school, 
bring the child, therefore, an added Ufe income of $20,000, or a 
return of between nine and ten dollars for each day spent in 
school. . . . 



Questions on the foregoing Readings 

1. What, at present, is the attitude of most authorities toward the 

question of standardizing all of the educational facilities of the 
nation? 

2. What were the recommendations of the U. S. Bureau of Education 



EDUCATION 363 

with regard to the centralization of the state school system in 
Arizona? 

3. Outline the recommendations of the Bureau with respect to higher 

standards for teachers in Arizona. 

4. Why is the problem of financing the schools increasingly important? 

5. Compare the amounts spent on the schools of Columbia, South 

Carolina, with the amounts expended for this purpose in other 
cities. 

6. What are some elements in a campaign to secure more adequate 

financial support of the schools? 

7. Why ought it not to be difKicult to secure this support? 

8. How many states had compulsory attendance laws by 1914? 

9. Discuss the problem of securing the school attendance of the 

children of poor parents. 

10. What is the importance of state agents charged with the enforce- 

ment of the school attendance laws? 

11. What is the present tendency with regard to setting the age limits 

in compulsory attendance laws? 

12. Summarize the important factors in the enforcement of compul- 

sory school attendance laws. 

13. Give an example of a problem which may arise in connection 

with the relation of general or liberal to vocational education. 

14. What problem arises in connection with the time at which vo- 

cational education should be begun? 

15. Give some examples of problems which arise in connection with 

the transference of the results of vocational education. 

16. Illustrate the diflticulty of dividing the pupil's time and energy 

between technical and practical training. 

17. At what age should home-making education be begun? 

18. Name some activities which figure prominently in the wider use 

of the school plant movement. 

19. Give an example of the wider use of the school plant between the 

dismissal of afternoon classes and nightfall. 

20. Summarize the attitude of the Joliet (111.) Board of Education 

toward the wider use of the school plant. 

21. Why is it important to point out the money value of education? 

22. What did a study of Who's Who in America reveal as to the value 

of education? 

23. Illustrate the statement that " the educated man fails less often " 

than the uneducated. 

24. What were the results, so far as the money value of education is 

concerned, of the studies conducted in Springfield (Mass.) and 
Brooklyn? 



PART IV — AMERICAN POLITICAL PROBLEMS 
a. Some Economic Functions of Government 



Rapid de- 
velopment of 
the corpo- 
rate form of 
business or- 
ganization. 



The begin- 
nings of 
what later 
developed 
into the 
U.S. Steel 
Corporation. 



The busi- 
ness, origi- 
nally small, 
grows rapidly 
after the 
Civil War. 



CHAPTER XXVII 

PUBLIC INTEREST IN BUSINESS: REGULATION 

157. An example of industrial combination ^ 

One of the most spectacular chapters in the history of industry 
deals with the origin and development of those business organizations 
which are popularly known as trusts. Formerly most businesses 
were carried on either by individuals or by a small number of part- 
ners; within the last half century there has been so steady a develop- 
ment of corporate organization that to-day the great corporation 
is the dominant form of business organization. In the following 
selection Professor Chester W. Wright illustrates the development 
of "big business" by tracing the history of the United States 
Steel Corporation: 

In the year 1858 one Andrew Kloman and his brother started a 
small iron forge at Allegheny, Pa. Their plant was worth about 
$5,000. They made a reputation for putting out good and reliable 
products, particularly axles for railroads, and the business pros- 
pered. . . . During the Civil War the demand for iron was enor- 
mously increased and the iron and steel industry grew rapidly and 
was very prosperous. [In 1863 Andrew Carnegie bought an interest 
in the business, and] in 1865 this partnership was consolidated with 
another in which Carnegie also had an interest, and took the name 
of the Union Iron Mills Co. . . . 

The Union Iron Mills consumed large quantities of pig iron, and 
the owners decided that they could obtain it at less cost if they made 
their own pig iron instead of bujdng it. In 1870 a group of them 
organized a separate company and erected the Lucy blast furnace 

1 From the United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Education, 
Lessons in Community and National Life. Washington, igi8. Series A; pp. 209- 
212, 217-218. 

364 



PUBLIC INTEREST IN BUSINESS: REGULATION 365 

to smelt ore and make pig iron. ... In 1874 a number of men con- 
nected with the Union Iron Mills and some others who were interested 
in railroads organized the Edgar Thomson Steel Co., and a very 
efficient big plant was erected for the manufacture of steel rails. . . . 

Another step toward integration and the further harmonizing Further 
of interests was taken in 1881 when the Thomson steel works, the s™^^. °-^ 

combina- 

Lucy furnaces, the Union Iron Mills, and some coke properties, tion, in 
together with $1,000,000 new capital, were all combined into one ^ '^ . ^' 
firm with a capital of $5,000,000. Mr. Carnegie, who had on various figures prom- 
previous occasions acquired the interests of some of his partners '^^" ^' 
in these concerns, owned a little more than half of the stock of this 
company and it was known as Carnegie Bros. & Co. (Ltd.). A 
further important move toward integration was made the following 
year when the Carnegie interests purchased a large amount of stock 
in the Frick Coke Co., which was the dominant owner of coal lands 
and coke ovens in the Connellsville district, whence came the best 
coking coal used in smelting iron ore. 

In 1881 some competitors of the Carnegie Co. opened a big plant The elimi- 
at Homestead for the manufacture of steel ingots, billets, and rails, i^^tion of 

competitors. 

but they met with financial difficulties and two years later sold out 
to the Carnegie interests. ... In 1890 another threatening rival 
was eUminated when the newly erected Duquesne steel works were 
purchased. In 1892 the various Carnegie interests were again con- 
3oUdated in the Carnegie Steel Co. (Ltd.), with a capital of 
$25,000,000. . . . 

There were also organized during these years, . . . the Federal The develop- 
Steel Co. . . . and the National Steel Co. . . . Both of these steel ^^^^ °^ "'^^ 

competitors 

companies were combinations of other companies and both were 
competitors of the Carnegie Steel Co. Seeing dangers of competition 
ahead, the Carnegie companies threatened low prices and the loss 
of big profits which prosperity seemed to promise. Moreover, the 
bankers and promoters who still held a large amount of stock in 
the new combinations were anxious to seU their stocks to the pubhc, 
and they knew that if a competitive war broke out in the steel busi- 
ness the value of these stocks would fall and the public would hesi- 
tate to buy. This furnished an added reason for trying to harmonize 
the conflicting interests. 



366 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



leads to the 
organization 
of the 
U.S. Steel 
Corporation. 



It was under these circumstances that a meeting of the leading 
men in the steel industry was called, and in 1901 under the leader- 
ship of Mr. J. P. Morgan the plan to consoUdate all of these con- 
cerns and small combinations in one gigantic company to be called 
the United States Steel Corporation, with a capitalization of about 
$i,40o,oop,ooo, was carried through. The Steel Corporation as then 
organized owned 149 steel works of various kinds, vast ore, coal, 
gas, and Umestone properties, over 1,000 miles of railroad, and over 
100 vessels on the Great Lakes. It at that time controlled about 
two-thirds of the country's total output of steel ingots, billets, rails, 
castings, nails, plates, structural shapes, and sheet steel, and about 
three-quarters of the output of wire rods and tin plate. . . . 



The concen- 
tration of 
power due 
to indus- 
trial inte- 
gration. 



In 1882 a 
number 
of oil 
companies 

enter an 
agreement 



to form a 
limited 
number of 
corporations 

to carry 
on the oil 
business. 



158. A typical trust agreement ^ 

From the standpoint of the public welfare, a significant element 
in the development of great business concerns has been the con- 
centration of power. An early method of securing this concentra- 
tion of power was for a number of concerns to enter a specific agree- 
ment which allowed all of their combined resources to be directed 
as a unit. The most famous of agreements of this kind was the 
"trust" device, first used by the Standard Oil Company, in 1882. 
Some of the significant elements in this original trust agreement 
are given below: 

This agreement ps] made and entered upon this second day of 
January, a.d. 1882, by and between [more than a dozen oil companies, 
as weU as numerous designated individuals.] . . . 

II. The parties hereto do covenant and agree to and with each 
other, each in consideration of the mutual covenants and agree- 
ments of the others, as follows: 

(i) As soon as practicable a corporation shall be formed in each 
of the following states, under the laws thereof, to- wit: Ohio, New 
York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey; . . . 

(2) The purposes and powers of said corporations shall be to mine 
for, produce, manufacture, refine, and deal in petroleum and all 

* From the United States Industrial Commission, Preliminary Report on Trusts 
and Industrial Combinations. Washington, 1900. Vol. i, pp. 1221-1225. 



PUBLIC INTEREST IN BUSINESS: REGULATION 367 

its products, and all the materials used in such business, and tran- 
sact other business collateral thereto. . . . 

(7) AU of the property, real and personal, assets, and business They are to 

of each and all of the [combining] corporations and hmited part- transfer 

their prop- 
nerships . . . shall be transferred to and vested in the said several erty to 

Standard Oil Companies. All of the property, assets, and business ^^^ corpora- 

in or of each particular state shall be transferred to and vested in state 

the Standard Oil Co. of that particular state. . . . 

(10) The consideration for the transfer and conveyance of the and receive 

money, property, and business aforesaid to each or any of the '" exchange 
■^ ' ^ ^ -^ ' . -^ stock in the 

Standard OU Companies shall be stock of the respective Standard said corpo- 

Oil Company to which said transfer or conveyance is made, equal ""^^lon. 
at par value to the appraised value of the money, property, and busi- 
ness so transferred. . . . 

III. The trusts upon which said stocks shall be held, and the The com- 

number, powers, and duties of said trustees, shall be as follows: timing busi- 
nesses to 
(i) The number of trustees shall be nine. [Here foUow their be con- 
names, the first mentioned being T. D. Rockefeller."] . . . trolled by 
' ^ •' -■ nine 

(11) The trustees shall prepare certificates, which shall show the trustees 

interest of each beneficiary in said trust, and deliver them to the who shall 
persons properly entitled thereto. They shall be divided into shares g^Q^,]. J ^^le 
of the par value of $100 each, and shall be known as "Standard combined 
Oil Trust Certificates, " and shall be issued subject to all the terms ^^j^^' issuT'to 
and conditions of this agreement. The trustees shall have power the stock- 
to agree upon and direct the form and contents of said certificates, ^j-^g^ ^^j._ 
and the mode in which they shall be signed, attested, and tificates 
transferred. . . . 

(14) It shall be the duty of said trustees to receive and safely to on which 

keep all interest and dividends declared and paid upon any of the the stock- 
holders are 
said bonds, stocks, and moneys held by them in trust, and to dis- to receive 

tribute all moneys received from such sources or from sales of trust dividends. 

property or otherwise by declaring and paying dividends upon the 

Standard Trust Certificates as funds accumulate, which in their 

judgment are not needed for the uses and expenses of said trust. . . . 

(15) It shall be the duty of said trustees to exercise general su- 
pervision over the affairs of said several Standard Oil Companies, 
and as far as practicable over the other companies or partnerships, 



368 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



The trustees 
to manage 
and direct 
the com- 
bined busi- 
nesses. 



any portion of whose stock is held in said trust. It shall be their 
duty as stockholders of said companies to elect as directors and 
officers thereof faithful and competent men. They may elect them- 
selves to such positions as they see fit so to do, and shall endeavor 
to have the affairs of said companies managed and directed in the 
manner they may deem most conducive to the best interests to the 
holders of said trust certificates. . . . 



A chief ob- 
jection to 
the trust is 
that it 
tends to 
abuse its 
power. 



The charge 
against the 
National 
Cash Reg- 
ister Com- 
pany: 

Attempts to 
learn the 
secrets of 
competitors 



159. Abuse of power by the trust ^ 

Economists are accustomed to say that up to a certain point in- 
tegration in industry may result in numerous economies. When 
businesses combine, some of the wastes of competition are avoided. 
Often combination means more effective management. Up to a 
certain point, too, it is often true that the product can be manufac- 
tured more cheaply. The trouble, however, has been that very often 
these advantages have been outweighed, from the point of view of the 
public at least, by certain evils of trust development. Of these evils, 
the chief is the tendency of the trust to abuse its power. For example, 
the trust may attempt to further its own interests at the expense 
of competing businesses, and at the expense of the pubHc. Illustra- 
tive of the evil practices of the trust are the following extracts from 
the indictment of the National Cash Register Company in the case 
of United States v. Patterson et al.: 

[The program of the National Cash Register Company included 
the following items]: 

1. The inducing, hiring, and bribing of employees and ex-employees 
of [competitors] . . . deceitfully and wrongfxolly to disclose to said 
the National Cash Register Company the secrets of the business 
of the concerns by which they were respectively employed, or had 
been employed. . . . 

2. The inducing, hiring, and bribing of employees of carters, 
truckmen, express companies, railroad common carriers, telegraph 
companies, and telephone companies, wrongfully and unlawfully 
to disclose to said the National Cash Register Company the se- 

1 From the United States v. Patterson et al. District Court, S. D., Ohio. W. D. 
June 26, 191 2. 



PUBLIC INTEREST IN BUSINESS: REGULATION 369 

crcts . . . pertaining to the carriage and transportation of cash 
registers for such competitors. . . . 

3. The instructing and requiring all sales agents of said the 
National Cash Register Company to ascertain and report ... all 
facts and details pertaining to the business and activities of said 
competitors. . . . 

4. The using of the influence of said the National Cash Register and to in- 
Company and of its agents \vith, and the making of unwarranted ^"'^j.^^'^r 
and false statements to, banking and other institutions, to injure those com- 
the credit of said competitors and prevent their securing accommoda- P^'-'tors. 
tions of money, credit, and suppUes convenient and necessary to 

the carrying on of their business; 

5. The instructing and requiring of all sales agents of said the Interference 
National Cash Register Company to interfere with, obstruct, and ^^j*^*^ ^^ 
prevent in every way possible sales of such competitive cash reg- competitors, 
isters by said competitors. ... 

6. The making, in some cases, by said the National Cash Regis- Use of 
ter Company, to such competitors, and to purchasers and prospec- ^'^^^^*^^' 
tfve purchasers of such competitive cash registers, of threats to 
begin suits in the courts againts them for infringing and for hav- 
ing infringed its patent rights pertaining to ts genuine cash reg- 
isters, when as said defendants each well knew, no such patent 
rights existed, and no such suits were contemplated or would really 

be begun, and such threats were made merely to harass such competi- 
tors, purchasers, and prospective purchasers. . . . 

8. The organizing of cash-register manufacturing concerns and and bogus 
cash-register sales concerns, and the maintaining of them, ostensibly '^o'^'^^™^- 
as competitors of said the National Cash Register Company, but 

in fact as convenient instruments for use in gaining the confidence 
and obtaining the secrets of said real competitors of said the National 
Cash Register Company. . . . 

9. The inducing, by offers of much greater compensation than Winning 
they were receiving from said competitors, respectively, agents and ^^^| ^ ^ 
servants of said competitors ... to leave the employment of said of competi- 
competitors ... to enter the employment of . . . said National ^°^^' 
Cash Register Company; and this principally for the purpose of 
embarrassing said competitors. . . . 



370 



kEAblNGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Attacking 
the patent 
rights of 
competitors. 



Encourage- 
ment of 
other tac- 
tics of an 
unfair and 
imlawful 
nature. 



10. By applying ... for letters patent of the United States, 
in some cases upon the cash registers of said competitors and in other 
cases upon improvements upon such competitive cash registers, 
and this merely for the purpose of harassing such competitors by 
interference proceedings and suits and threats to institute such 
proceedings and suits; and 

11. The using of, or originating and using of, and the instructing 
and requiring of such agents and sales agents of said the National 
Cash Register Company to use or to originate and use, such other 
unfair, oppressive, tortious, illegal, and unlawful means, unlawfully, 
wrongfully, and irresistibly excluding other concerns beside said 
the National Cash Register Company from engaging in said inter- 
state trade and commerce, as might at any time become, or 
appear . . . convenient. . . . 



Evils of 
trust devel- 
opment give 
rise to anti- 
trust legis- 
lation. 



In i8go the 
Sherman 
Anti-trust 
Act de- 
clared 
illegal all 
combina- 
tions in 
restraint of 
trade. 



160. The Shennan Anti-trust Act of 1890 ^ 

Though it did not begin until about 1880, trust development 
proceeded so rapidly that within a few years the trust device had 
been adopted in a considerable number of important industries. 
Very soon the unfair practices of the trusts gave rise to a demand 
for restrictive legislation. One result of this demand was the enact- 
ment by Congress of the Sherman Anti-trust Act of 1890. Practically 
the full text of this important measure follows: 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of America in Congress assembled, 

Sec. I. Every contract, combination in the form of trust or other- 
wise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce among the 
several states, or with foreign nations, is hereby declared to be illegal. 
Every person who shall make any such contract or engage in any 
such combination or conspiracy shall be deemed guilty of a mis- 
demeanor, and, on conviction thereof, shall be punished by fine 
not exceeding five thousand dollars, or by imprisonment not exceed- 
ing one year, or by both said punishments, in the discretion of the 
court. 



1890. 



From the Statutes of the United States, The Federal Anti-trust Law, July 2, 



PUBLIC INTEREST IN BUSINESS: REGULATION 371 

Sec. 2, Every person who shall monopolize, or attempt to monop- Monopoly 
olize, or combine or conspire with any other person or persons, to forbidden, 
monopolize any part of the trade or commerce among the several 
states, or with foreign nations, shall be deemed guilty of a misde- 
meanor, and on conviction thereof, shall be punished by fine not 
exceeding five thousand dollars, or by imprisonment not exceeding 
one year, or by both said punishments, in the discretion of the court. 

Sec. 3. Every contract, combination in form of trust or other- Geographi- 
wise, or conspiracy, in restraint of trade or commerce in any ter- ^?^ ^^'^^ °^ 
ritory of the United States or of the District of Columbia, or in 
restraint of trade or commerce between any such territory and an- 
other, or between any such territory or territoKes and any state 
or states or the District of Columbia, or with foreign nations, or 
between the District of Columbia and any state or states or foreign 
nations, is hereby declared illegal. Every person who shall make 
any such contract or engage in any such combination or conspiracy 
shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on conviction thereof, 
shall be punished by fine not exceeding five thousand dollars, or 
by imprisonment not exceeding one year, or by both said punish- 
ments, in the discretion of the court. 

Sec. 4. The several circuit courts of the United States are hereby Relation of 

invested with jurisdiction to prevent and restrain violations of this courts 

to the exe- 

act; and it shall be the duty of the several district attorneys of the cution of 
United States, in their respective districts, under the direction of ^^^' 
the Attorney General, to institute proceedings in equity to prevent 
and restrain such violations. . . . 

Sec. 5. Whenever it shall appear to the court before which any 
proceeding under section four of this act may be pending, that the 
ends of justice require that other paities should be brought before 
the court, the court may cause them to be summoned, whether they 
reside in the district in which the court is held or not; and subpoenas 
to that end may be served in any 'district by the marshal thereof. 

Sec. 6. Any property owned under any contract or by any com- Provision 
bination, or pursuant to any conspiracy (and being the subject ;°5 °^' 
thereof) mentioned in section one of this act, and being in the course property, 
of transportation from one state to another, or to a foreign country, 
shall be forfeited to the United States, and may be seized and con- 



372 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Legal rights 
of injured 
parties. 



The words 

"person" 

and 

"persons" 

defined. 



demned by like proceedings as those provided by law for the for- 
feiture, seizure, and condemnation of property imported into the 
United States contrary to law. 

Sec. 7. Any person who shall be injured in his business or property 
by any other person or corporation, by reason of anything forbidden 
or declared to be unlawful by this act, may sue therefor in any circuit 
court of the United States in the district in which the defendant 
resides or is found, without respect to the amount in controversy, 
and shall recover threefold the damages by him sustained, and the 
costs of suit, including a reasonable attorney's fee. 

Sec. 8. That the word "person" or "persons," wherever used 
in this act, shall be deemed to include corporations and associations 
existing under or authorized by the laws of either the United States, 
the laws of any of the territories, the laws of any state, or the laws 
of any foreign country. 



Ineffective 
for twenty 
years, the 
Sherman 
Act proves 
its strength 
in 1911. 



The Ameri- 
can Tobacco 
Company 
ordered dis- 
solved in 
1911. 
Two pos- 
ible reme- 
dies are re- 
jected by 
the Supreme 
Court. 



161. A great trust ordered dissolved ^ 

The Sherman Act was designed to curb the illegal activities of 
the trusts, yet during the first twenty years of its existence, the act 
was largely a failure. Occasionally the law revealed elements of 
strength, but it was not until 191 1 that it really proved to be an ef- 
fective weapon against monopoly. In that year the Supreme Court 
of the United States ordered dissolved two of the greatest trusts 
in the country, the Standard Oil Company and the American Tobacco 
Company. In its decision in the case against the latter trust the 
Court concluded as follows: 

[In the disposal of this case,] we might at once resort to one or 
the other of two general remedies — 

(a) the allowance of a permanent injunction restraining the com- 
bination [and its constituent parts] from continuing to engage in 
interstate commerce until the illegal situation could be cured ... or 

(b) to direct the appointment of a receiver to take charge of the 
assets and property in this country of the combination in all its 
ramifications for the purpose of preventing a continued violation 
of the law, and thus working out by a sale of the property of the 

^ From the Supreme Court of the United States, Decision in the case of The 
United States, v. The American Tobacco Company and others. 191 1. 



PUBLIC INTEREST IN BUSINESS: REGULATION 373 



combination or otherwise a condition of things which would not be 
repugnant to the prohibitions of the act. 

But having regard to the principles which we have said must control 
our action, we do not think we can now direct the immediate applica- 
tion of either of these remedies. We so consider as to the first because 
in view of the extent of the combination, the vast field which it covers, 
the aU-embracing character of its activities concerning tobacco and 
its products, to at once stay the movement in interstate commerce 
of the products which the combination or its cooperating forces 
produce or control might inflict infinite injury upon the pubHc by 
leading to a stoppage of supply and a great enhancement of prices. 
The second, because the extensive power which would result from 
at once resorting to a receivership might not only do grievous injury 
to the public, but also cause widespread and perhaps irreparable 
loss to many innocent people. 

Under these circumstances, taking into mind the complexity of 
the situation in all of its aspects, and giving weight to the many- 
sided considerations which must control our judgment, we think, 
so far as the permanent relief to be awarded is concerned, we should 
decree as follows: 

First. That the combination in and of itself, as well as each and 
all of the elements composing it, whether corporate or individual, 
whether considered collectively or separately, be decreed to be in 
restraint of trade and an attempt to monopoHze and a monopoliza- 
tion within the first and second sections of the anti-trust act. 

Second. That the court below, in order to give effective force to 
our decree in this regard, be directed to hear the parties ... for 
the purpose of ascertaining and determining upon some plan or 
method of dissolving the combination and of re-creating, out of 
the elements now composing it, a new condition which shall be 
honestly in harmony with and not repugnant to the law. 

Third. That for the accomplishnient of these purposes, taking 
into view the difficulty of the situation, a period of six months is 
allowed from the receipt of our mandate, with leave, however, in 
the event, in the judgment of the court below, the necessities of 
the situation require, to extend such period to a further time not 
to exceed 60 days. 



Reasons for 
rejecting 
these pro- 
posed reme- 
dies. 



The decision 
of the 
Court : 



The Amer- 
ican To- 
bacco Com- 
pany violates 
the act of 



The trust 
to be, dis- 
solved and 
reorganized 
in accordance 
with law. 



Time period 
within which 
this is to 
be accom- 
plished. 



374 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



The remedy 
in case 
dissolution 
does not 
take place 
within this 
period. 



Conclusion. 



Fourth. That in the event, before the expiration of the period 
thus fixed, a condition of disintegration in harmony with the law 
is not brought about, ... it shall be the duty of the court, either 
by way of an injunction restraining the movement of the products 
of the combination in the channels of interstate or foreign commerce, 
or by the appointment of a receiver, to give effect to the require- 
ments of the statute. 

Pending the bringing about of the residt just stated, each and 
all of the defendants, individuals as well as corporations, should 
be restrained from doing any act which might further extend or 
enlarge the power of the combination, by any means or device what- 
soever. In view of the considerations we have stated, we leave the 
matter to the court below to work out a compliance with the law 
without unnecessary injury to the public or the rights of private 
property. . . . 

And it is so ordered. 



Additional 

anti-trust 
legislation 
in 1914. 



A Federal 
Trade Com- 
mission 
created. 



162. Significance of the Federal Trade Commission ^ 

Notwithstanding the strength shown by the Sherman Act in 
effecting the dissolution of the Standard Oil Company and the 
American Tobacco Company in 191 1, there continued to be agita- 
tion for additional legislation. It was thought that our anti-trust 
legislation shoiold be more specific, and that it should deal more 
effectively with the early stages of monopoly. In the effort to secure 
these ends. Congress in 19 14 passed two additional anti-trust laws, 
the Clayton law and the Federal Trade Commission law. Of these 
two acts, the latter is probably the more significant. The following 
are excerpts from the Federal Trade Commission Act: 

Sec. I. Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representa- 
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

That a commission is hereby created and established, to be known 
as the Federal Trade Commission . . . which shall be composed 
of five commissioners, who shall be appointed by the President, 
by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Not more than 



1 From the Statutes of 
enacted, 1914. 



United States, Federal Trade Commission Law, 



PUBLIC INTEREST IN BUSINESS: REGULATION 375 

three of the commissioners shall be members of the same political 
party. . . . 

Sec. 5. . . . The commission is hereby empowered and directed to It is em- 
prevent persons, partnerships, or corporations, except banks, and Po^^^'^^ ^° 
common carriers subject to the acts to regulate commerce, from fair methods 
using unfair methods of competition in commerce. °. '^°'"P'^*^'' 

Whenever the commission shall have reason to beheve that any 

such person, partnership, or corporation has been or is using any un- Procedure 

fair method of competition in commerce, and if it shall appear to ^^ "'^'^ } !^ 

^ "^^ Commission. 

the commission that a proceeding by it in respect thereof would be 

to the interest of the public, it shall issue and serve upon such person, 

partnership, or corporation a complaint stating its charges in that 

respect, and containing a notice of a hearing upon a day and at a 

place therein fixed at least thirty days after the service of said 

complaint. 

The person, partnership, or corporation so complained of shall * 
have the right to appear . . . and show cause why an order should 
not be entered by the commission requiring such person, partnership, 
or corporation to cease and desist from the violation of the law 
so charged. ... If upon such hearing the commission shall be of 
the opinion that the method of competition in question is prohib- 
ited by this act, it . . . shall issue and cause to be served on such 
person, partnership, or corporation an order requiring [them] to 
cease and desist from using such method of competition. . . . 

Sec. 6. That the commission shall also have power — 

(o) To gather and compile information concerning, and to investi- investigat- 
gate from time to time the organization, business, conduct, practices, '"^ power 
and management of any corporation engaged in commerce, (except- rations. 
ing banks and common carriers subject to the act to regulate com- 
merce), and its relation to other corporations and to individuals, 
associations, and partnerships. 

(b) To require, by general or special orders, [such] corpora- Power to 

tions ... to file with the commission in such form as the commis- reqmre 

reports, 
sion may prescribe annual or special, or both annual and special, 

reports or answers in writing to specific questions, furnishing to the 
commission such information as it may require as to the organiza- 
tion, business, conduct, practices, management, and relation to 



376 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Power to 

investigate 
the carry- 
ing out of 
anti-trust 
decrees. 



Power to 
recommend 
readjust- 
ment of 
business. 



Power to 
make reports 
to Congress. 



Other corporations, partnerships, and individuals of the [^said] 
corporations. . . . 

(c) Whenever a final decree has been entered against any defend- 
ant corporation in any suit brought by the United States to prevent 
and restrain any violation of the anti-trust acts, to make investiga- 
tion, upon its own initiative, of the manner in which the decree has 
been or is being carried out, and upon the application of the Attorney 
General it shall be its duty to make such investigation. . . . 

{d) Upon the direction of the President or either house of Congress 
[the commission shall have power] to investigate and report the 
facts relating to any alleged violations of the anti-trust acts by any 
corporation. 

(e) Upon the application of the Attorney General [the commis- 
sion shall have power] to investigate and make recommendations 
for the readjustment of the business of any corporation alleged to 
be violating the anti-trust acts in order that the corporation may 
thereafter maintain its organization, management, and conduct of 
business in accordance with law. 

( / ) [The commission shall have the power] to make public from 
time to time such portions of the information obtained by it here- 
under, except trade secrets and names of customers, as it shall deem 
expedient in the public interest; and to make annual and special 
reports to the Congress, and to submit therewith recommendations 
for additional legislation; and to provide for the publication of 
its reports and decisions in such form and manner as may be best 
adapted for public information and use. . . . 



Questions on the foregoing Readings 

1. What is at present the dominant form of business organization? 

2. At what time did Andrew Carnegie secure an interest in the busi- 

ness which later developed into the United States Steel Cor- 
poration? 

3. What step toward integration was taken in the iron and steel 

business in 1881? 

4. What was the amount of capital invested in the Carnegie Steel 

Company in 1892? 

5. What were the circumstances which led to the formation of the 

United States Steel Corporation in 1901? 



PUBLIC INTEREST IN BUSINESS: REGULATION 377 

6. What industry first made use of the " trust " device? 

7. What were to be the purposes and powers of the corporations 

formed by the adoption of this device? 

8. How was the business of the combining concerns to be controlled? 

9. Explain the relation between stock and trust certificates as pro- 

vided for in the trust agreement. 

10. What is the great objection to the trust? 

11. Outline the charges against the National Cash Register with 

respect to the attempts of this company to learn the secrets of 
its competitors. 

12. How did agents of this company attempt to injure the credit of 

its competitors? 

13. What use did this company make of bogus concerns? 

14. What was the chief purpose of these and other unfair tactics 

adopted by the company? 

15. Why was the Sherman Anti-trust Act of i8go passed by Congress? 

16. What did this law say concerning combinations in restraint of 

trade? 

17. What part were the circuit courts of the United States to play in 

the execution of the law? 

18. What redress was allowed persons who had sustained injury as 

the result of trust activity? 

19. In what year did the Sherman Act prove markedly effective? 

20. What two great combinations were ordered dissolved in igii? 

21. What, in brief, was the decision of the Supreme Court in the 

American Tobacco Company case? 

22. Why did there continue to be agitation for additional anti-trust 

legislation after 1911? 

23. What two acts were enacted in 19 14? 

24. Outline the powers which the Federal Trade Commission may 

exercise over business. 

25. What additional powers may be exercised by the Commission? 



CHAPTER XXVIII 



Public util- 
ities classi- 
fied. 



Unique posi- 
tion of the 
railroads. 



PUBLIC INTEREST IN BUSINESS: OWNERSHIP 
163. Social importance of public utilities ^ 

In so far as they affect the well-being of the community, all busi- 
nesses are of social importance. However, some industries are more 
immediately and intimately connected with the welfare of the public 
than are other t3^es of business. Of particular importance to the 
public is a group of industries which includes: (a) local utilities, 
including such industries as street railways, gas and electric light 
works, water works, and the telephone; and (b) steam railroads. The 
social significance of these public utilities was affirmed in the 1886 
report of the Senate Select Committee on Interstate Commerce. 
The report of this committee was concerned chiefly with steam rail- 
roads, but the following passages are significant in connection with 
other utilities as well: 

As a common carrier and as the privileged manager of the business 
of transportation upon a pubhc highway, the relations and obliga- 
tions of the railroad to the community and to the governmental 
authority are essentially different from those of the ordinary cor- 
poration which does not enjoy similar exclusive privileges or perform 
a public function. In the very nature of these distinctions and in 
the peculiar relations they occasion are to be found the reasons which 
justify and render necessary the legislative regulation of the rail- 
road corporations engaged in the business of transportation for the 
public convenience. . . . 

The pubhc nature of these corporations has been uniformly main- 
tained by the courts and legislatures of the several states. In Massa- 
chusetts, for example, as Judge Russell, the chairman of the rail- 

1 From the Reports of Committees of the Senate of the United States for the 
First Session of the Forty -ninth Congress, 1885-1886. Report of the Committee on 
Interstate Commerce. Part i; pp. 40-42. 

378 



PUBLIC INTEREST IN BUSINESS: OWNERSHIP 379 

road commission, stated to the committee: "Our supreme court has Railroad 

always held very strictly the doctrine that railroad corporations corpora- 
tions are 
are pubHc corporations, created solely for the good of the pubHc, and public cor- 

that they are to be dealt with accordingly. A great many years ago Poi'ations. 

Mr. Choate said to the legislature, ' Railroads are made for the people 

and not the people for the railroads;' and that idea has been adopted 

by the supreme court in this state. ..." 

These principles are well settled, and since the decisions by the Additional 

United States Supreme Court in the "Granger Cases" brought the '■f''^°"^ ^^y 

the state 

railroads to a reahzing sense of their obHgations they have been has the 

substantially conceded. But when we consider the imperial influence ^^^^\ ^° , 

regulate the 
which these most mighty engines of civilization can exercise upon railroads. 

the development, progress, and commerce of the country, making 
possible the ruin or prosperity of cities, states, or even larger areas 
of our territory, ... it becomes evident that the state possesses 
the right to supervise and regulate the administration of such im- 
perial power upon the broad ground of public policy, in addition 
to the fact a railroad corporation manages a pubHc highway, exer- 
cises a public function, and is in the nature of a monopoly. 

The extent of the obligations of the railroad to the state and of Obligations 
the state to the railroad is well expressed by the railroad commis- ^^^ ''^'^" 

road to 
sioners of New York Las followsj: "A common carrier thus created the state, 

becomes at common law a quasi public servant, bound, as the price 

of its privileges conferred, to carry all persons and property offered 

to it for a just and reasonable compensation, and with due regard 

to public safety and convenience. 

"It is the right and duty of the state ... to see that the citizen and obliga- 

has service to which he is thus entitled, to prevent railroads from ^'°"® °^ ^^^ 

state to the 

assuming rights and privileges not granted, to compel the correction railroad. 
of abuses, and to require the performance of duties assumed. No 
less has the railroad at least a we 11- recognized equitable right to in- 
sist that the state shall guard its property; that it shall be protected 
in the exercise of its chartered privileges, and that subsequent legis- 
lation shall not exceed the limits above stated." . . . 



38o 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Causes of 
the move- 
ment toward 
municipal 
ownership 
of local 
utilities. 



Extent of 
municipal 
ownership 
of 



water works 



electric 



and gas 
light plants, 



164. Extent of municipal ownership ^ 

Confining our present attention to those pubUc utilities which are 
local in character, i.e. street railways, gas and electric light works, 
and similar industries, it should be noted that two factors have stimu- 
lated the movement for pubhc ownership of these utiUties. In the 
first place, such industries are natural monopoUes, and tend by their 
very nature to integrate and combine. In the second place, the 
social importance of these utiHties renders dangerous their natural 
tendency toward monopoly conditions. The result is a movement 
toward the municipal ownership of local utilities. The extent of this 
movement in 191 7 is described by Mr. Carl D. Thompson in the 
following passage: 

... At the beginning of the last century, there were 16 water 
plants in the United States, only one of them municipally owned. 
By the close of the century there were perhaps 3500 plants, more 
than half of which were pubUcly owned and 200 of which had changed 
from private to public ownership. Practically every one of the larger 
cities owns its water plants, the only exception being San Francisco. 
And of all the cities of the United States of 30,000 population and 
over, there are 150 municipal to 50 private plants, or three public 
to one private. . . . 

A similarly rapid growth has taken place in electric lighting. 
The first municipal fighting plant was estabfished in 188 1. At that 
time there were seven private plants. From that time forward 
the number of municipal plants increased rapidly, until by 191 2 
there were 1562 municipal plants. Moreover, the percentage of 
increase of municipal plants has been much greater during the ten 
years ending with 191 2 than that of private plants. . . . Moreover, 
while there have been 13 plants that have changed from pubfic to 
private ownership, there have been 170 plants that have changed 
from private to pubfic ownership. ... 

The development of municipal ownership in the field of gas 
production has been less rapid. And the reasons are obvious. The 
development of electricity as a mode of fighting is more practical 



1 From Carl D. Thompson, Municipal Ownership. 
1017; PP- 1-6. 



B. W. Huebsch, New York, 



PUBLIC INTEREST IN BUSINESS: OWNERSHIP 381 

and convenient for municipal purposes, and besides is better suited 
to small cities where municipal ownership in lighting has had its 
chief development. . . . However, there has been considerable de- 
velopment even in this direction. There were only nine municipal 
gas plants in the United States in 1890, and only 15 in 1899. By 
1907 there were 25 in the United States and 10 in Canada. Com- 
paring this with the growth of the private plants, the report of the 
Civic Federation finds that the number of private plants has grown 
about 48 per cent, and the number of municipal plants 67 per cent, 
in six years. 

The first city in the United States to undertake the municipal and street 
ownership of its street car lines was Monroe, La. That city took "■^^'l^^y^- 
over its hnes about 15 years ago and reports indicate that the Unes 
have been making a surplus of over $16,000 per year in recent years. 

St. Louis, Mo., has operated a short electric line in connection 
with its water works plant for some years, but it is a very small part 
of the city's transportation system. 

San Francisco is the first city of any size to really go into the munici- 
pal ownership of its street car hnes. After nearly ten years of agita- 
tion, and after ten years of struggle in repeated elections, and after 
encountering and overcoming all sorts of court proceedings and other 
difficulties, the city finally started its first municipal cars in December, 
191 2. Since then it has steadily developed its system. . . . 

165. The future of municipal ownership ^ 

The agitation for the municipal ownership of local utilities has Municipal 
been accompanied by a number of investigations of the subject. Of pw^^^f'i'P 

_ _ ° ■" investigated 

these investigations one of the most comprehensive was that con- by the 

ducted for the National Civic Federation by the Commission on Commission 

•^ _ on Public 

PubUc Ownership and Operation. This Commission, appointed in Ownership 
1905, made a thorough study of local utiHties at home and abroad, ^.""^ Opera- 
and submitted its report in 1907. With respect to the prospects 
of municipal ownership in this country, the commission offered the 
following resolutions and recommendations: 

' From the Commission on Public Ownership and Operation, Report to the 
National Chic Federation on Municipal and Private Operation of Public Utilities. 
New York, 1907. Part i, Vol. i, pp. 23-25. 



382 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Conclusions 
of the 
Commission: 

Public util- 
ities cannot 
be regulated 
by competi- 
tion. 

Some utili- 
ties demand 
public 
ownership, 



others do 
not. 



Provision 
for future 
purchase. 



Municipali- 
ties should 
be given 
the author- 
ity to build 
and operate 
public util- 
ities. 



In any case, 
the pubhc 
should share 
in the profits 
of the 
utilities. 



First, we wish to emphasize the fact that the pubhc utilities studied 
are so constituted that it is impossible for them to be regulated by 
competition. Therefore, they must be controlled and regulated 
by the government; or they must be left to do as they please; or 
they must be operated by the pubhc. There is no other course. 
None of us is in favor of leaving them to their own will, and the 
question is whether it is better to regulate or to operate. ... 

We are of the opinion that a public utility which concerns the 
health of the citizens should not be left to individuals, where the 
temptation of profit might produce disastrous results, and therefore 
it is our judgment that undertakings in which the sanitary motive 
largely enters should be operated by the pubhc. 

We have come to the conclusion that municipal ownership of 
pubhc utilities should not be extended to revenue-producing industries 
which do not involve the pubhc health, the pubhc safety, pubhc 
transportation, or the permanent occupation of public streets or 
grounds, and that municipal operation should not be undertaken 
solely for profit. 

We are also of the opinion that all future grants to private com- 
panies for the construction and operation of public utilities should 
be terminable after a certain fixed period, and that meanwhUe cities 
should have the right to purchase the property for operation, lease 
or sale, paying its fair value. 

To carry out these recommendations effectively and to protect 
the rights of the people, we recommend that the various states should 
give to their municipahties the authority, upon popular vote under 
reasonable regulations, to build and operate pubhc utilities, or to 
build and lease the same, or to take over works already con- 
structed. . . . We beheve that this provision will tend to make 
it to the enhghtened seh-interest of the pubhc utility companies to 
furnish adequate service upon fair terms, and to this extent will tend 
to render it unnecessary for the pubhc to take over the easting 
utilities or to acquire new ones. . . . 

In case the management of pubhc utilities is left with private 
companies, the pubhc should retain in aU cases an interest in the 
growth and profits of the future, either by a share of the profits or 
a reduction of the charges, the latter being preferable as it inures 



PUBLIC INTEREST IN BUSINESS: OWNERSHIP 383 

to the benefit of those who use the utiUties, while a share of the profits 
benefits the taxpayers. 

Our investigations teach us that no municipal operation is hkely Factors 
to be highly successful that does not provide for: controlling 

° ■' '■ the success 

First. An executive manager with full responsibiUty, holding his of municipal 
position during good behavior. ownership. 

Second. Exclusion of pohtical influence and personal favoritism 
from the management of the undertaking. 

Third. Separation of the finances of the undertaking from those 
of the rest of the city. 

Fourth. Exemption from the debt Umit of the necessary bond 
issues for revenue-producing utiUties, which shall be a first charge 
upon the property and revenues of such undertaking. . . . 

166. The evils of railroad development ^ 

Let us turn now to the second type of public utilities, i.e. the Rapid de- 
steam railroads. The necessity of adequate transportation was ^^opment 
early recognized by both Federal and state governments, and nu- roads. 
merous encouragements were extended railroad corporations in the 
development of transportation facilities. Railroad development pro- 
ceeded rapidly after 1850, and particularly after the Civil War. The 
benefits of this rapid development are beyond measure; on the other Benefits 
hand, the unchecked growth of railroad corporations in time gave ^ 

rise to numerous complaints. In 1886, a Select Committee of the 
Senate of the United States reported that the complaints against 
the railroad system were based upon the following charges: 

1. That local rates are unreasonably high, compared with through Complaints 

rates against the 

railroads 

2. That both local and through rates are unreasonably high at with respect 
non-competing points, either from the absence of competition or ^° ^^^^^' 

in consequence of pooUng agreements that restrict its operation. 

3. That rates are estabUshed without apparent regard to the 

actual cost of the service performed, and are based largely on "what 

the trafiic will bear." 

* From the Reports of Committees of the Senate of the United States for the 
First Session of the Forty-ninth Congress, 1885-1886. Report of the Committee on 
Interstate Commerce. Part i, pp. 180-181. 



384 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



discrimina- 
tions, 



the suppres- 
sion of free 
competition, 



favoritism. 



irresponsi- 
bility. 



overcapi- 
talization, 



4. That unjustifiable discriminations are constantly made between 
individuals in the rates charged for like service under similar cir- 
cumstances. 

5. That improper discriminations are made between articles of 
freight and branches of business of a hke character, and between 
different quantities of the same class of freight. 

6. That unreasonable discriminations are made between localities 
similarly situated. 

7. That the effect of the prevailing pohcy of railroad management 
is, by an elaborate system of secret special rates, rebates, drawbacks, 
and concessions, to foster monopoly, to enrich favored shippers, 
and to prevent free competition in many fines of trade in which the 
item of transportation is an important factor. 

8. That such favoritism and secrecy introduce an element of un- 
certainty into legitimate business that greatly retards the develop- 
ment of our industries and commerce. 

9. That the secret cutting of rates and the sudden fluctuations 
that constantly take place are demoralizing to all business except 
that of a purely speculative character, and frequently occasion great 
injustice and heavy losses. 

10. That, in the absence of national and uniform legislation, the 
railroads are able by various devices to avoid their responsibifity 
as carriers, especially on shipments over more than one road, or from 
one state to another, and that shippers find great difficulty in recov- 
ering damages for the loss of property or for injury thereto. 

11. That railroads refuse to be bound by their own contracts, 
and arbitrarily coUect large sums in the shape of overcharges in 
addition to the rates agreed upon at the time of shipment. 

12. That railroads often refuse to recognize or be responsible for 
the acts of dishonest agents acting under their authority. 

13. That the common law fails to afford a remedy for such griev- 
ances, and that in cases of dispute the shipper is compelled to sub- 
mit to the decision of the railroad manager or pool commissioner or 
run the risk of incurring further losses by greater discriminations. . . . 

16. That the capitalization and bonded indebtedness of the 
roads largely exceed the actual cost of their construction or their 
present value, and that unreasonable rates are charged in the 



PUBLIC INTEREST IN BUSINESS OWNERSHIP 3S5 

effort to pay dividends on watered stock and interest on bonds 
improperly issued. 

17. That railroad corporations have improperly engaged in Hnes 
of business entirely distinct from that of transportation, and that 
undue advantages have been afforded to business enterprises in which 
railroad officials were interested. 

18. That the management of the railroad business is extravagant and extrav- 
and wasteful, and that a needless tax is imposed upon the shipping usance, 
and traveling pubhc by the unnecessary expenditure of large sums 

in the maintenance of a costly force of agents engaged in a reckless 
strife for competitive business. 

167. Government administration of the railroads, 
1917-1920 1 

The persistence of the evils referred to in the preceding selection Legislation 
led, after 1880, to a good deal of legislation designed to curb the proving 

ineffective 

unfair practices of the railroads. But this earlier legislation was Federal con- 
unable effectively to control the railroad situation, and accordingly ^^°^ °^ ^^^ 

, . . . , roads in 

the advocates of government ownership rejoiced when on Decem- war-time is 

ber 26, 191 7, the President proclaimed the railroads under Federal welcomed 

control. A large number of factors prevents us from drawing any a prelude 

satisfactory conclusion from the war-time record of the roads, but *^ govern- 
ment 
it is interesting to note that one of the obvious benefits of gov- ownership. 

emment ownership was attained, i.e. numerous economies of man- 
agement. These are briefly outlined in the following extract from 
the report of the Director- General of Railroads to the President, 
September 3, 191 8: 
The reorganization of the operating force has been made without Economies 

any impairment of efficiency and with a reduction in the number °^ govem- 
e ai -J 1-1 ment ad- 

of ofticers required, and m the aggregate of the salaries paid them ministra- 

chargeable to operating expenses. . . ,. Under private control, salaries '^'°"- 
as high as $100,000 per annum were paid officers of railroad corpora- 
tions. Under government control the highest salaries paid are to 
Regional Directors (of whom there are but seven) , and these salaries reduction of 
range from $40,000 to $50,000 per annum. . . . salaries, 

' From the United States Railroad Administration, Report of the Director-General 
(0 tke President, etc. Washington, 1918; pp. 11-12, 16-21. 



386 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



simplifica- 
tion of 
freight 
classifica- 
tions, 



consolida- 
tion of 
ticket 
oflBces, 



elimination 
of unneces- 
sary pas- 
senger 
trains, 



better use 
of passenger 



Hitherto there have been some three different freight classifica- 
tions applying to interstate traffic, while many states had their 
own particular classifications applying to interstate traffic. ... It 
often happened that a shipment moving through two or more classi- 
fication territories was subjected to different rules in the course of 
its journey. . . . Great confusion in rating and classification and 
many overcharges and claims were the result. To simphfy this situa- 
tion a consolidated classification has been prepared. . . . 

Inasmuch as there is no longer any competition for freight and 
passenger traffic between the various divisions of the government 
railroad system, I have ordered that solicitation of traffic and special 
exploitation of passenger routes shall be discontinued. In pursuance 
of this poUcy the soliciting forces of the various railroads have been 
either relieved from duty or assigned to employment in connection 
with the operating departments, and the separate ticket offices 
formerly maintained in most of the larger cities have been consoli- 
dated. . . . The saving that will be effected as a result of this pohcy 
is estimated at $23,566,633. . . . 

After careful study a number of unnecessary passenger trains 
have been eliminated. Between many of the larger cities of the 
country served by competing railroads there was formerly a sur- 
plusage of elaborately equipped passenger trains. In many cases 
they started and arrived at the same time. Some of them were but 
half filled. . . . Many of these unnecessary trains have been ehmi- 
nated. In the territory west of Chicago and the Mississippi River 
passenger trains traversing an aggregate of 21,000,000 miles a year 
have been done away with. In the Eastern District unessential 
passenger trains that used to travel 26,420,000 miles per annum have 
also been eliminated. . . . 

Other reforms that are being worked out in the passenger service 
include the common use of the same terminals by railroads formerly 
in competition and using separate terminals. The most conspicuous 
example of the latter innovation is the use of the Pennsylvania 
Terminal in New York for through trains via the Baltimore & Ohio 
between Washington and New York. ... In this case, as in many 
others, it has been arranged that trains shall leave at successive 
hours instead of at the same time, as they often did in the past. . . . 



PUBLIC INTEREST IN BUSINESS: OWNERSHIP 387 



The same principle is being applied as rapidly as possible in the and freight 
consolidation of freight terminals. The saving of switching costs terminas, 
that will result and the greater rapidity with which cars can be loaded 
and unloaded are obvious. . . . 

Recognizing the fact that a straight line is the shortest distance 
between two points, extensive studies have been made with the pur- 
pose of developing well-graded routes for the transportation of freight routes. 
that will be shorter than those previously in use. Great progress 
has been made in this direction, especially in the West, and many 
new through lines are being developed. One of them from Los 
Angeles to Dallas and Fort Worth is over 500 miles shorter than 
the routing via the Southern Pacific Hnes formerly much used. . . . 



and the 
shortening 
of freight 



168. The Transportation Act of 1920 ^ 

Federal administration of the nation's railroads proved to be short- 
lived, the roads being returned to private control in the spring of 
1920. However, government administration had emphasized the 
desirability of certain changes in the legislation regulating railroads. 
Accordingly, the Transportation Act of 1920 was passed. This law 
was designed to safeguard the roads during the readjustment period 
after the war, and to take advantage of some of the lessons of govern- 
ment administration. Some of the significant provisions of the 
Transportation Act of 1920 follow: 

Sec. 401 ... (11) It shall be the duty of every carrier by rail- 
road subject to this Act to furnish safe and adequate car service, 
and to establish, observe, and enforce just and reasonable rules, 
regulations, and practices with respect to car service. . . . 

(12) It shall also be the duty of everv carrier by railroad to make 
just and reasonable distribution of cars for transportation of coal 
among the coal mines served by it, whether located upon its line or 
lines or customarily dependent upon it for car supply. . . . 

(15) [^In case of shortage of equipment, congestion or other emer- 
gency, the Interstate Commerce Commission may] (a) suspend the 
operation of any or all rules ... for such time as may be determined 
by the Commission; [and (b) may] make such just and reasonable 

• From the Statutes of the United States, Transportation Act of IQ20, Sections 
401, 405, and 407. 



The rail- 
roads re- 
turned to 
private con- 
trol. The 
Transporta- 
tion Act of 
1920. 



Duty to 
furnish safe 
and ade- 
quate car 
service, 

and to 
supply coal 
mines with 
cars. 



Increased 
powers of 
the Inter- 
state Com- 
merce Com- 
mission in 
emergencies. 



388 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



The Com- 
mission 
given power 
to control 
the exten- 
sion and 
abandon- 
ment of 
lines. 



Interchange 
of facilities. 



Common use 
of terminals. 



directions with respect to car service, without regard to the ownership 
as between carriers of locomotives, cars and other vehicles, during 
such emergency as in its opinion will best promote the service in the 
interest of the public. . . . [In pursuance of this power, the Com- 
mission may] require such joint or common use of terminals ... as 
in its opinion wiU best meet the emergency and serve the public 
interest. . . . [The Commission may also, in such case,]] give direc- 
tions for preference or priority in transportation, embargoes, or 
movement of trafi&c under permits, at such time and for such periods 
as it may determine. ... 

(i6) Whenever the Commission is of opinion that any carrier by 
railroad subject to this Act is for any reason unable to transport 
the traffic offered it so as properly to serve the public, [the Commission 
may] make such just and reasonable directions with respect to the 
handling, routing, and movement of the traffic of such carrier ... as 
in the opinion of the Commission will best promote the service in 
the interest of the pubHc. ... 

(i8) [Hereafter no railroad] shaU undertake the extension of its 
line of railroad, or the construction of a new line of railroad, or shall 
acquire or operate any line of railroad, or extension thereof, . . . un- 
less and until there shall first have been obtained from the Commission 
a certificate that the present or future public convenience and neces- 
sity require or will require the construction, or operation ... of 
such additional or extended fine of [railroad. And] no carrier by 
railroad . . . shall abandon all or any portion of a line of railroad, 
or the operation thereof, unless and until there shall first have 
been obtained from the Commission a certificate that the present 
or future public convenience and necessity permit of such abandon- 
ment. . . . 

Sec. 405 ... (3) All carriers . . . shall, according to their re- 
spective powers, afford all reasonable, proper, and equal facilities 
for the Interchange of traffic between their respective lines, and for 
the receiving, forwarding, and delivering of passengers or property 
to and from their several lines and those connecting therewith. . . . 

(4) If the Commission finds It to be In the public Interest and to 
be practicable, without substantially impairing the ability of a car- 
rier owning or entitled to the enjoyment of terminal facilities to handle 



PUBLIC INTEREST IN BUSINESS: OWNERSHIP 389 

its own business, it shall have power to require the use of any such 

terminal facilities ... by another carrier or other carriers. . . . 

Sec. 407 ... (4) The Commission shall as soon as practicable The Com- 

prepare and adopt a plan for the consolidation of the railway prop- '"'ssion 

erties of the continental United States into a limited number of to plan the 

systems. In the division of such railways into such systems under cpnsohda- 
•^ ■' ■' _ tion of the 

such plan, competition shall be preserved as fully as possible, and nation's 

wherever practicable the existing routes and channels of trade and '"^"'■0^^^. 
commerce shall be maintained. . . . 



Questions on the foregoing Readings 

1. Into what two classes may public utilities be divided? 

2. In what way does the railroad corporation differ from the ordinary 

corporation? 

3. What was Judge Russell's opinion in this regard? 

4. What are the reciprocal obligations of the railroad and the state? 

5. What two factors have stimulated the movement for the mu- 

nicipal ownership of local utilities? 

6. What is the extent of municipal ownership with respect to water 

works? 

7. Why has the movement been relatively slow in the manufacture 

of gas? 

8. What is the extent of municipal ownership in the street railway 

business? 

9. What did the Commission on Public Ownership and Operation 

conclude as to which industries should be operated by the public, 

and which should not be so operated? 
10. What, according to the Commission, are the chief factors which 

will determine the future development of municipal ownership? 
if. Name some complaints against the railroads with respect to rates. 

12. What charges were brought against the railroads with respect to 

discriminations? 

13. What is meant by saying that formerly the railroads avoided their 

responsibility as carriers? 

14. What charge was brought against the railroads with respect to 

extravagance? 

15. During what period of our history were the railroads placed under 

governmental control? 

16. What, according to the Director-General of the Railroads, were 

the economies of governmental administration with respect to 
the elimination of unnecessary passenger trains? 



390 READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 

17. What saving was effected in the use of ticket offices? 

18. How were passenger and freight terminals utilized more advan- 

tageously under government administration? 

19. Name an important saving with respect to the utilization of 

freight routes. 

20. What important railroad legislation was enacted in 1920? 

21. What did this act say with regard to the duty of common carriers 

to furnish car service? 

22. How did the act increase the powers of the Interstate Commerce 

Commission in time of emergency? 

23. Explain the extent to which the act gave the Commission control 

over the extension and abandonment of lines. 

24. What did the act say regarding the use of terminals by carriers 

not owning those terminals? 

25. What provision was made for the consolidation of the nation's 

railroads? 



CHAPTER XXIX 

THE TARIFF 
169. The basis of international trade i 

The tariff question is a phase of the larger problem of international The tariff 

trade. International trade is a wide-spread and persistent phenom- p^^se^of ^ 

enon, and, hke domestic trade, is based upon the instinct of peoples the problem 

to exchange products which they want relatively little for products national 

which they want relatively much. In the following selection. Pro- trade, 
fessor Alvin S. Johnson discusses international trade as the funda- 
mental basis of the tariff question: 

From early modern times, when men first began to think sys- Trade be- 

11 • 1 • . 1 1 f .X ^- u tween differ- 

tematically upon economic subjects, a great deal of attention has ^^^ ^^^ ^j 
been bestowed upon the exchange of goods between persons living the same 
under different governments, or international trade. It was for a compared 
long time believed (and it is still widely believed) that such trade with trade 
differs radically in its nature from trade that is carried on within j^^^j^j^s 
the limits of a single country. While the latter, it is generally ad- 
mitted, is an unmixed good, and ought to be encouraged, or at any 
rate granted the most perfect freedom by government, the former, 
many believe, is often a doubtful blessing and ought to be closely 
scrutinized and regulated, and, under many circumstances, dis- 
couraged or even prohibited. . . . 

All permanent trade is based upon differences in character of Permanent 

, . trade based 

productive powers. ... ^j^ jiger- 

One region may have excellent mineral deposits but lack fertile ences in 

land for the growing of food; another region may be quite devoid powers. 

of minerals, but abundantly supplied with rich lands. In one region 

the character of the population may be such as to fit it for kinds of Illustrations. 

'From Alvin S. Johnson, Introduction to Economics. D. C. Heath & Co. ,1909; 
pp. 324-328. 

391 



392 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



The result. 



In some 
cases the 
products 
exchanged 
are quite 
dissimilar, 



but usually 
one or both 
of the trad- 
ing regions 
can produce 
both of the 
products, 
exchanged. 



work requiring skill and taste, but not such as to fit it for kinds of 
work requiring great muscular strength and endurance. In another 
region the population may be almost incapable of acquiring taste 
and skill, although it is well fitted for labor demanding rude muscular 
power. 

Capital may be plentiful and cheap in one region and scarce and 
dear in another. [Thus] industries requiring vast capital can be op- 
erated to greater advantage in the former region than in the latter. 

Land may be plentiful in one region, relatively to the population, 
and scarce in another. Industries requiring an extensive use of land 
will find their natural habitat in the former region. 

The populations of two regions, though differing little in funda- 
mental character, may differ widely in their attitude toward particular 
forms of toil. They possess different habits, or, more properly, 
traditions of workmanship, which fit the one better for one kind of 
labor, the other for another. 

So long as any of these differences persist, there is obviously reason 
why there should be differences in the industries of the two regions 
With adequate means of communication, trade between the two 
regions naturally arises. . . . 

In some cases the products of two regions are quite dissimilar. 
Neither region can produce the commodities which it receives from 
the other. Thus in the Middle Ages an important trade was carried 
on between northern Europe and the Indies. The former region 
furnished furs and amber, the latter, spices and gems. A modern 
example of the same sort of trade is the exchange of iron and steel 
products for teas, coffee, and spices between England on the one hand, 
and the East Indies on the other. In general, the trade between 
countries in the temperate zone, on the one hand, and countries in 
the torrid zone, on the other, is largely of this character. . . . 

More commonly one of the trading regions, or both, can produce 
both classes of commodities exchanged. The United States can 
produce both sugar and pork; so also can Cuba. But the United 
States possesses exceptional advantages for the production of pork; 
for the production of sugar it is not especially well adapted. Cuba, 
on the other hand, has unsurpassed advantages for the production 
of sugar, but can produce pork with only a moderate degree of sue- 



THE TARIFF 393 

cess. It is, therefore, natural that an exchange of products between 
the two countries should take place. . . . 



170. The nature of the tariff ^ 

Suppose, in the case just mentioned, that there were no artificial what would 

hindrances to the exchange of pork and sugar between the United ^^PP^^ 'f 

... there were 

States and Cuba. In such an event, economic considerations would no interfer- 

determine the extent and nature of this international trade. In such f"^^ ^'^'^ , 

international 

a case we should adjust our production in such a way as to produce trade. 

all the pork that Cuba needed, while Cuba would tend to specialize 

in the growinp; of sugar for our consumption. But the international 

exchange of products is not always unfettered, in many instances 

artificial restrictions are placed upon such exchange, that is to say, 

a tax or duty known as a tariff is levied upon the goods of foreign na- The tariff. 

tions as they enter a particular country for sale. The nature of the 

tariff is briefly described by Professor Johnson in the following 

language: 

Since early modern times a great part of the energy of governments Two reasons 
has been expended upon the regulation of international trade. The ,'' . ''f^" 

ulation of 

reason for such regulation has been twofold. In the first place, there international 
is a deep-rooted belief in the people of every nation that the national trade, 
prosperity may be furthered by restrictions upon trade with foreigners. 
In the second place, such trade has long been recognized as a con- 
venient and appropriate source of public revenue. 

A century ago the policy of prohibiting the importation of some How un- 

classes of goods, and the exportation of other classes, was widely fol- "desirable 
_ _ _ goods are 

lowed. At present this policy has practically fallen into disuse. Some kept out of 

of the states of eastern Europe prohibit the exportation of grain when ^ country. 
the supply appears to be insufficient to keep the people of those states 
from starving. Most countries prohibit the importation of certain 
commodities that are beHeved to meiiace the health of the consumer. 
Omitting such exceptional cases, however, we may say that the regula- 
tion of foreign trade is everywhere carried on under the guise of taxa- 
tion. If we wish to prohibit the importation of cotton from Egypt, 

1 From Alvin S. Johnson, Introduction to Economics. D. C. Heath & Co., 1909; 
pp. 348-350. 



394 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Our tariff 
problem re- 
lates solely 
to taxes on 
imports. 



Duties may 
be for rev- 
enue, or 
for protec- 
tive pur- 
poses. 



Revenue 
duties may 
afford some 
protection, 

and protec- 
tive duties 
yield rev- 
enue. 



we place such high taxes upon imports of Egyptian cotton that no 
one finds it worth while to import it. 

Taxes on foreign trade may be levied upon either imports or 
exports or upon both. Export taxes are generally unpopular, because 
of the common beUef that it is a good thing to export as many goods 
as possible. In the United States export taxes are prohibited by 
the Constitution. We shall, therefore, confine our study to taxes on 
imports. 

[The difference between taxes levied for revenue, and taxes levied 
for protection may be illustrated as follows]: Before the annexation 
of Porto Rico all the coffee used in the United States came from foreign 
soil. A tax (or "duty") of, say, five cents a pound under the con- 
ditions would have discouraged importation in only a slight degree. 
[In such a case the tax would constitute a "revenue" tariff.] 

A duty of $20 a ton on steel, on the other hand, would practically 
prohibit the importation of steel. . . . Suppose that we can produce 
steel at $15 a ton, while in some foreign country it can be produced 
at $12. If the cost of bringing steel from the foreign country is $2 
a ton, foreign producers can sell steel here at lower prices than our 
own producers can afford to take. But if foreign steel is compelled 
to pay a duty of $20 a ton, none of it can be sold here, unless the 
American producers combine and force steel up to the price of $34 a 
ton. Such a duty, since it "protects" domestic producers against 
foreign competition, is known as a protective duty. . . . 

Of course a duty the aim of which is the raising of revenue may 
be incidentally protective. Thus if we were to levy a duty on imported 
coffee, it would "protect" the coffee growers of Porto Rico. 

On the other hand, protective duties may incidentally yield a 
revenue. In the case employed above, if the duty on foreign steel 
had been $1 instead of $20, foreign steel would have continued to 
be imported, and thus a revenue would have been obtained. At 
the same time the foreigner would have been prevented from under- 
selling the American; accordingly, the latter would have been pro- 
tected. Most of our duties are protective, but incidentally yield 
a revenue, as they are not high enough to prevent importation 
altogether. 

The schedule of all duties levied by a country is known as the 



THE TARIFF 



395 



"tariff." A tariff consisting of duties whose main object is the rais- Conclusion, 
ing of a revenue is known as a revenue tariff. ... A protective 
tariff consists mainly of duties whose purpose is the protection of 
domestic producers against foreign competition. Such a tariff has 
been in force in the United States since early in the nineteenth cen- 
tury; its character has been most strongly marked since the Civil War. 

171. The United States Tariff Commission ^ 

In the United States, and in other highly industrial countries A TariflF 
in which the protective principle is intrenched, a great deal of time Comnussion 
and ingenuity must necessarily be expended upon the determination facilitate 
of tariff policies and administration. Congress enjoys the privilege [^"^ ^^^'^" 
of legislating on tariff questions, but there has long been need of 
some agency which would supply the national legislature with ade- 
quate information on tariff questions. In 1916 there was an attempt 
to fill this need by the creation of the United States Tariff Commission. 
This Commission consists of six members appointed by the President 
for twelve years, not more than three of whom may belong to the 
same political party. The work of the Commission was described 
in 1920 by its chairman, Thomas W. Page, as follows: 

The United States Tariff Commission has no administrative duties General 
whatever. It was created to make investigations, assemble and purpose of 
digest information, and lay the results before the President and Con- mission. 
. gress. The Tariff Commission is required to respond to any request 
made upon it by the President, the Congress as a whole, either 
house of Congress, the Finance Committee of the Senate, and the 
Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives. It 
is contemplated that these requests v.ill be for information. Thus 
far, I may say, the requests have been, in the main, limited to this 
field. . . . 

The most important of [the duties of the Commission] may be Duties of 
grouped under three heads. ^^^ 9°"^" 

First, the Commission is required to investigate the operation 
and the form of the law actually in force with a view to ascertaining 

^ From the National Tax Association, Proceedings of the Thirteenth Annual 
Conference on Taxation, held at Salt Lake City, September 6-10, 1Q20. New 
York, 1921; pp. 221-224. 



mission: 



396 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



The codifi- 
cation and 
simplifica- 
tion of the 
customs ad- 
ministrative 
laws. 



The study 
of foreign 
tariffs. 



Effects of 
the tariff 
upon Amer- 
ican indus- 
tries. 



A commod- 
ity survey 
necessary. 



whether the true intent of Congress is being carried out. It may 
surprise you to know that no codification or attempt at classifying 
and elucidating our customs administrative laws has been made in 
this country for more than a century. The law has been gradually 
built up by the imposition of one statute upon another, often with- 
out adequate consideration of the operation of the acts already in 
force, with the result that conflict and confusion have often prevented 
the proper enforcement of the provisions as intended by Con- 
gress. . . . The Tariff Commission, therefore, as one of its first activi- 
ties codified the law, redrafted it in simple form, and prepared a 
report which it submitted to Congress. . . . 

The second group. of duties of the Tariff Commission deals with 
the relation of our tariff to foreign tariffs. This bids fair to be a 
field of great importance and of intense interest. Tariff poHcies of 
the whole world are in process of being remade since the war. ... In 
revising our tariff Congress needs explicit and ready information 
as to the poHcies and legislative measures of the nations with which 
we trade. This country and others have long looked upon the tariff 
as a means of preventing discrimination and unfair treatment, and it 
will be necessary for Congress to know in detail what is the treat- 
ment of our commerce by other countries when it comes to framing 
a new tariff biU. ... 

The third, and in some respects the most important of all the 
duties devolving on the Tariff Commission, consists in investigating 
the effects of the tariff on American industries and in making such ' 
a survey of the conditions surrounding these industries as will show 
when the need exists for tariff revision. 

Thus far the Commission has covered nearly half of the items 
mentioned in the tariff and a large number of equa.lly important items 
that are not mentioned by name. The information assembled is 
recorded for each item in what we call a Tariff Information Survey 
and each survey is intended to contain in regard to the item it covers 
all the facts that are pertinent to the tariff. . . . 

With some items an important fact would consist in explaining 
what the thing under consideration really is. In practically every 
schedule occur the names of commodities that are commercially 
dealt in, but the nature and uses of which are unknown to most citi- 



THE TARIFF 397 

zens and to most Congressmen, so that we begin our surveys with How the 

the description of the product concerned and a statement of its Commission 
. gathers in- 

chief uses. formation 

We proceed to consider the domestic production of the article; ^oncemmg 
. . commodi- 

the materials out of which it is made, whether they have to be im- ties. 

ported, or are produced in this country; the nature of the equip- 
ment used in the industry, whether foreign or domestic; a sufficient 
description of the methods of production to give to the Congressmen 
and the citizen some idea of what the industry is Kke; and then we 
study the organization of the industry, whether it is conducted on 
a large scale, under highly centraUzed control as, for example, in the 
meat packing business, or whether it is widely distributed in small 
scale units under individual ownership, as is for the most part the case 
with the fruit and vegetable packing industry. . . . 

[We also] show the amount of production and give an estimate The ques- 

of the domestic consumption with a view to showing whether the ^^?^ ?^ 

° whether or 

domestic industry has a capacity to satisfy the domestic demand, not imports 
or whether imports in considerable quantities are necessary. The 
latter case might well be illustrated by reference to woolgrowing, 
many miUions of pounds of wool being necessarily imported. Natu- 
rally we also study the amount and character of the exports, if there 
are any. ... 



172. Tariff principles of the Democratic party ' 

Each of the great poHtical parties has long had a more or less definite Each of 

tariff policy, and consequently it is possible somewhat to predict *^^ F^'^^ 

the effects upon the tariff of a change in administration. The Repub- a more or 

Hcan party was in power for most of the period between the Civil '^'^^ definite 

1 -n- !• 1 • tariff policy. 

War and 191 2, and the general tanfif policy during this period was 

one of protection. The Democrats charged that the high cost of 
living and other evils were the result of this long-continued pro- 
tection. In 191 2 the Democratic party platform expressed the 
following views on the tariff: 
We declare it to be a fundamental principle of the Democratic 

I From the Democratic National Committee, Democratic Campaign Text-book, 
1912; pp. 2, 4, 166-167, 169. 



sary. 



398 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



The Demo- 
cratic party 
declares a 
protective 
tariff 

unconstitu- 
tional. 

Evils of the 
Republican 
policy of 
protection. 



The Demo- 
crats de- 
mand a 
downward 
revision of 
the tariff. 



President 
Taft's tariff 
policy de- 
nounced, 



and the 
people ap- 
pealed to. 



party that the Federal government under the Constitution has no 
right or power to impose or collect tariff duties except for the pur- 
pose of revenue, and we demand that the collection of such taxes 
shall be limited to the necessities of government honestly and eco- 
nomically administered. 

The high Republican tariff is the principal cause of the unequal 
distribution of wealth, it is a system of taxation which makes the 
rich richer and the poor poorer; under its operations the American 
farmer and laboring man are the chief sufferers; it raises the cost of 
the necessaries of hfe to them, but does not protect their product 
or wages. The farmer sells largely in free markets and buys almost 
entirely in the protected markets. In the most highly protected 
industries, such as cotton and wool, steel and iron, the wages of the 
laborers are the lowest paid in any of our industries. We denounce 
the Republican pretense on that subject and assert that American 
wages are established by competitive conditions and not by the tariff. 

We favor the immediate downward revision of the existing high, 
and, in many cases, prohibitive tariff duties, insisting that material 
reductions be speedily made upon the necessaries of Hfe. Articles 
entering into competition with trust-controlled products and articles 
of American manufacture which are sold abroad more cheaply than 
at home, should be put upon the free list. 

We recognize that our system of tariff taxation is intimately con- 
nected with the business of the country, and we favor the tiltimate 
attainment of the principles we advocate by legislation that will not 
injure or destroy legitimate industry. 

We denounce the action of President Taft in vetoing the bills to 
reduce the tariff in the cotton, woolen, metals and chemical schedules, 
and the farmers' free Ust bill, all of which were designed to give 
immediate relief to the masses from the exactions of the trusts. 

The RepubHcan party, while promising tariff revision, has shown 
by its tariff legislation that such revision is not to be in the people's 
interest; and having been faithless to its pledges in 1908, it should 
no longer enjoy the confidence of the nation. We appeal to the Ameri- 
can people to support us in our demand for a tariff for revenue only. 

The high cost of living is a serious problem in every American 
home. The Republican party, in its platform, attempts to escape 



THE TARIFF 399 

from responsibility for present conditions by denying that they are Protection 
due to a protective tariff. We take issue with them on this subject [gg^Q^gj^jg 
and charge that excessive prices result in a large measure from the for the high 
high tariff laws enacted and maintained by the Republican party P°^* 
and from trusts and commercial conspiracies fostered and encouraged 
by such laws, and we assert that no substantial relief can be secured 
for the people until import duties on the necessaries of hfe are 
materially reduced and these criminal conspiracies broken up. . . . 

It has been frequently asserted that the Democratic party was it is not 
responsible for the panic of 1893 and the years immediately foUow- ^^-^ ^ 
ing. ... It is asserted that the hardships of that period were due cratic tariff 

to Democratic tariff, that the tariff is responsible for success or P^^'f^ breeds 

' _ ... panics. 

failure; that the protective principle in tariff taxation means mate- 
rial progress, while the tariff for revenue only means financial adver- 
sity. If one period is considered, accepting that from 1890 to 1897, 
and all other history were forgotten, this allegation would not be 
proven. If the failures in business are taken as the test of the law, 
an interesting fact is developed. The McKinley tariff bill [a Repub- 
lican measure] went into effect October 6, 1890, and remained in 
force until August 27, 1894, and included the worst of the panic of 
that period. . . . Everyone famiUar with American history knows 
that no Democratic tariff law nor Democratic administration was 
responsible for the unfortunate conditions of those times. . . . 

It has been repeatedly stated that the Democrats would destroy The Demo- 

the tariff and that protection is in the interest of the workingman ".^^^^ ^^^^^ 

. . . . ^i^^ to 

and the only hope of his well-being is in the continuance of RepubH- Hghten the 

can supremacy. The people are told that free trade, which they burdens of 
allege is the doctrine of democracy, would stop the wheels of industry sumer. 
and throw the laborer on the mercy of the government without 
employment. The truth is that the Democratic party has no inten- 
tion to destroy a single legitimate industry, neither, as the result of 
its control, need a single individual b'e without employment. Its pur- 
pose is to lighten the burdens of the consumer. . . . 



400 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



The Demo- 
crats in 
power. 



The Under- 
wood-Sim- 
mons act of 
1913- 



Repubhcan 
tariff prin- 
ciples. 



Confidence 
in the pro- 
tective prin- 
ciple. 



Uncertainty 
due to the 
World War. 



173. Tariff principles of the Republican party ^ 

The Democratic party won the presidential election of 191 2, and 
Woodrow Wilson was installed as President. The Democrats pro- 
ceeded to apply their tariff principles, and the result was the Under- 
wood-Simmons act of 1913. This measure reduced the tariff duties 
on some important commodities, and placed a number of articles 
on the free Ust. The Democrats also won the presidential election 
of 1916, but during President Wilson's second term there were indi- 
cations that the Republicans would shortly return to power. It is 
important, therefore, to notice the tariff principles of the Repubhcan 
party, as enunciated in 1920: 

The Ways and Means Committee of the present Repubhcan 
Congress and the Senate Finance Committee have recognized that 
the present abnormal situation in foreign trade and the interna- 
tional exchange precludes any comprehensive tariff program or revi- 
sion until conditions governing the future of our foreign trade can be 
predicted with greater certainty. 

There never has been any doubt concerning the principle under- 
lying the Repubhcan tariff pohcy. Our platform for 1920 says: 
"The Repubhcan party reaffirms its behef in the protective principle 
and pledges itself to a revision of the tariff as soon as conditions 
shall make it necessary for the preservation of the home market for 
American labor, agriculture and industry." 

The immediate application of that principle will require new 
wisdom and new knowledge of the present abnormal international 
trade situation. Therefore, our platform of 1920 combines its pledge 
of loyalty to the principle of protection with its statement concern- 
ing international trade: " The uncertain and unsettled condition 
of international balances, the abnormal economic and trade situation 
of the world, and the impossibility of forecasting accurately even 
the near future, preclude the formulation of a definite program to 
meet conditions a year hence." . . . 

What Senator Harding said on the tariff in his keynote speech as 
Chairman of the Republican National Convention in Chicago in 191 6 



1 From the Republican National Committee, Republican Campaign Text-hook, 
ig2o; pp. 487-489. 



THE TARIFF 401 

shows how firmly he believes in the principles of prolection. . . . Senator 
The following extracts from his 1916 Chicago speech are worth re- "^'relj"'{j''" 

peating: Republican 

"Subsistence is the first requisite of existence, and we have the ^p^^^jiJIg 
higher American standard of Uving because of the RepubUcan pro- for our high 
tective pohcy which makes of Americans the best paid workmen in ^^" ^"^ ^ 
all the world. . . . 

"It is not for me to put the stamp of relative importance on pend- He believes 
ing issues — the intelligent voters will determine that for them- ^^^1^^° p^g. 
selves. But I know what they are thinking, and they beUeve that tective 
the protective pohcy which made us industrially and commercially P°"^y- 
eminent is necessary to preserve that eminence. I know they want 
it restored and maintained. For myself I prefer a protective and 
productive tariff which prospers America first. I choose the economic 
pohcy which sends the American workingmen to the savings bank 
rather than to soup-houses. . . . 

"Moreover, I like the abiding consistency of our unchangeable He reafl5rms 
position upon this poHcy. The Repubhcan Convention of i860, which ^Jq,^^j ^^^-^g 
gave to the nation and all history the nomination of Lincoln, made policy of 
this simple and ample utterance: 'That, while providing revenue ^^^^^ party 
for the support of the General Government by duties upon imports, 
sound poHcy requires such an adjustment of these imports as to 
encourage the development of the industrial interests of the whole 
country; and we commend that poHcy of national exchanges which 
secure to the workingmen hberal wages, to agriculture remunerating 
prices, to mechanics and manufacturers an adequate reward for their 
skill, labor, and enterprise, and to the nation commercial prosperity 
and independence.' . . . 

"The Democratic party is always concerned about the American The Repub- 
consumer. Our Repubhcan achievement is the making of a nation concerned 
of prospering producers, and by producers I mean every human about pro- 
being who apphes muscle or skill or brain or all to the conversion of consumers 
nature's abundance into the necessities and luxuries of Ufe or partic- 
ipate in the ways and means of their transportation and exchange. 
Far better a high cost of living and ability to buy than a lowering 
of cost by destruction of purchasing capacity. . . . 

"The nations abroad and the Democratic party at home are 



402 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Republican 
tariff prin- 
ciples are 
being 

accepted at 
home and 
abroad. 



bearing witness to Republican wisdom. German industrial self- 
reliance is the sequence of her adoption of a Republican protective 
tariff, and England's manifest conversion to this fostering plan will 
magnify the prophetic wisdom of Republican protectionists. Even 
the Democratic party is penitent now and makes confession in 
action if not in words. . . ." 



Difficulty of 
ascertaining 
the effect of 
the tariff 
upon na- 
tional pros- 
perity. 



The pro- 
tective 
policy. 



Our pros- 
perity not 
due to con- 
tinued pro- 
tection, 
but to 



174. Relation of the tariff to national prosperity^ 

From the two foregoing selections it would appear that the Demo- 
cratic party beMeves the well-being of the country to depend rather 
largely upon the maintenance of a relatively low tariff, while the 
Republicans believe that relatively high protection has been an im- 
portant cause of our national prosperity. The large number of fac- 
tors in industrial history, and the impossibiUty of measuring many 
influences in our economic Ufe, render it impossible to say just what 
is the relation of the tariff to national prosperity. Nevertheless, it 
is interesting to note that a leading authority on the tariff, Professor 
Taussig, beUeves that there is no definite relation between the tariff 
and national prosperity. He says: 

In the United States a severely protective tariff was maintained 
for half a century after the Civil War. The financial exigencies of 
the war caused high duties to be levied, and in subsequent years 
these were retained. A rigid and all-inclusive system of protection 
grew up, and persisted without serious modification (barring a brief 
reaction in 1894-97) until 1913, when a considerable general reduc- 
tion was made. 

The economic effects of this system it is impossible to follow em- 
pirically. We have seen that its effects on the terms of international 
exchange are so interwoven with those of other factors that no unravel- 
ing is possible. Even more baffling is the task of following or measur- 
ing its effects on general prosperity. The protectionists, on this 
subject as on the rate of wages, have preached and protested that 
all good things come from their tariff. Such talk results naturally 
from the exigencies of partisan conflict and the need of simple argu- 



1 From Frank WiUiam Taussig, Principles of Economics. The Macmillan Com- 
pany, New York, 192 1. Vol. i; pp. 538-540. 



of other 
factors. 



THE TARIFF 403 

ments for the mass of voters. So loud and persistent has been the 
talk that for many persons, even for many who are not unintelligent 
or uneducated, it has become an article of faith that the prosperity 
of this country rests on the protective tariff. 

Yet there is no greater delusion. A multitude of factors explain a multitude 
our general welfare — vast resources, a far-spread division of labor 
within the country, a free, active, and intelligent population. Has 
not this North American region been for centuries, under aU sorts 
of economic and political conditions, the envy of the world? 

But to trace in detail the part played by any one factor in pro- 
moting or retarding the enviable outcome is weU-nigh impossible. 
Certain it is that, so far as the tariff is concerned, we must rely on 
general reasoning. The first and obvious effect of protection is to 
turn industry into less advantageous channels; and there is, in my 
judgment, no good case to rebut this general conclusion and to estab- 
lish a balance of gain, from such a tariff system as the United States 
has had since the Civil War. . . . 

The extent to which manufacturing industry in the United States The extent 
is dependent on the tariff system is vastly exaggerated by the pro- ° ^ ."^ 
tectionists. One would suppose, from their doleful predictions, that ing depends 
not a chimney would smoke but for the tariff. In fact, the United j^g • *", 
States is certain to be a great manufacturing country under any aggerated 
conditions. So much is assured by its wonderful resources of coal protect! 
and minerals and by the ingenuity and enterprise of its people. . . . ists 

But this same consideration indicates that the free traders went and free 
too far in ascribing ill effects to all the parts of the protective system, traders. 
It did not change the course of industry as far as their charges im- 
plied. The country would be prosperous, and would have greatly 
diversified industries, without a high tariff as certainly as with it. 



Questions on the foregoing Readings 

1. Upon what instinct does international trade depend? 

2. To what extent is international trade regarded as different from 

trade between various regions in the same country? 

3. Upon what differences is permanent trade based? 

4. Illustrate the effect upon international trade of these differences. 



404 READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 

5. Why will a country often import a commodity which it can pro- 

duce at home? 

6. What would happen if there were no artificial hindrances to the 

exchange of products between countries? 

7. Give two reasons for the regulation of international trade. 

8. What does the Constitution say as to export taxes? 

9. Illustrate the difference between duties for revenue, and duties 

for purposes of protection. 

10. Show how a revenue tariff may afford some protection. 

11. Show how a protective tariff may yield some revenue. 

12. Why was a Tariff Commission created in 1916? 

13. What is the general purpose of this Commission? 

14. What are the duties of the Commission with respect to the customs 

administrative laws? 

15. Why does the Commission make a study of foreign tariffs? 

16. What is the third and in some respects the most important of all 

the duties of the Commission? 
17. . Give some of the steps in the survey of commodities, as conducted 
by the Tariff Commission. 

18. Why is it possible somewhat to predict the effects upon the tariff 

of a change in administration? 

19. What type of tariff is declared by the Democratic party to be 

unconstitutional? 

20. What is the attitude of the Democratic party toward the Re- 

publican tariff policy? 

21. What, according to the Democrats, is the relation between pro- 

tection and the cost of living? 

22. Summarize the tariff principles of the Republican party as ex- 

pressed in 1920. 

23. Outline the position of Senator Harding in 1920 with respect to 

the tariff. 

24. How did Senator Harding reply to the statement that the Demo- 

cratic party desires to lighten the burden of the consumer? 

25. Why is it difficult to ascertain the effect of the tariff upon national 

prosperity? 

26. Explain the conclusions of Professor Taussig on this point. 



CHAPTER XXX 



CONSERVATION 



175. Why conservation of natural resources is necessary ^ 

In the earlier decades of our national history, the abundance of 
land, minerals, forests and other natural resources was so great that 
they were used generously and even lavishly. To a considerable 
extent such use was economically justified; nevertheless the shortage 
of these resources has recently called attention to the need of con- 
serving them. The conservation movement began toward the close 
of the last century, but until after igoo made relatively Httle headway. 
ReaUzing the urgency of the problem. President Roosevelt in 1908 
called a Conference of Governors of the states and territories of the 
United States to consider this important question. On May 13, 
1908, the President opened the Conference with an address to the 
governors and other guests, speaking, in part, as follows: 

I welcome you to this Conference at the White House. You have 
come hither at my request, so that we may join together to consider 
the question of the conservation and use of the great fundamental 
sources of wealth of this nation. . . . 

This Conference on the conservation of natural resources is in 
effect a meeting of the representatives of all the people of the United 
States called to consider the weightiest problem now before the 
nation; and the occasion for the meeting Hes in the fact that the 
natural resources of our country are in danger of exhaustion if we 
permit the old wasteful methods of exploiting them longer to con- 
tinue. . . . 

In Washington's time anthracite coal was known only as a useless 
black stone; and the great fields of bituminous coal were undis- 



The conser- 
vation 
movement 
made little 
headway 
until Presi- 
dent Roose- 
velt called 
a Confer- 
ence of 
Governors 



President 
Roosevelt 
welcomes 
the dele- 
gates. 

Importance 
of conserva- 
tion. 



1 From the Conference of Governors in the White House, Washington, D. C, 
May 13-15, 1908. Proceedings. Washington, 1909; pp. 3, 5-8. 

405 



4o6 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



The situa- 
tion in 
Washing- 
ton's day. 



Significance 
of the rapid 
development 
of the 
United 
States. 



The great 
material 
question of 
to-day. 



Rapid ex- 
haustion of 
resources. 



covered. As steam was unknown, the use of coal for power production 
was undreamed of. Water was practically the only source of power, 
save the labor of men and animals; and this power was used only 
in the most primitive fashion. But a few small iron deposits had 
been found in this country, and the use of iron by our countrymen 
was very small. Wood was practically the only fuel, while the forests 
were regarded chiefly as obstructions to settlement and cultivation. 
The man who cut down a tree was held to have conferred a service 
upon his fellows. . . . 

Since then our knowledge and use of the resources of the present 
territory of the United States have increased a hundredfold. In- 
deed, the growth of this nation by leaps and bounds makes one of 
the most striking and important chapters in the history of the world. 
Its growth has been due to the rapid development, and alas, that it 
should be said! to the rapid destruction, of our natural resources. 
Nature has supplied to us in the United States," and still supplies 
to us, more kinds of resources in a more lavish degree than has ever 
been the case at any other time or with any other people. Our 
position in the world has been attained by the extent and thorough- 
ness of the control we have achieved over Nature; but we are more, 
and not less, dependent upon what she furnishes than at any previous 
time of history since the days of primitive man. . . . 

The wise use of all of our natural resources, which are our national 
resources as well, is the great material question of to-day. I have 
asked you to come together now because the enormous consumption 
of these resources, and the threat of imminent exhaustion of some 
of them, due to reckless and wasteful use . . . calls for common 
effort, common action. . . . 

This nation began with the belief that its landed possession? 
were illimitable and capable of supporting all the people who might 
care to make our country their home; but already the limit of un- 
settled land is in sight, and indeed but Uttle land fitted for agricul- 
ture now remains unoccupied, save what can be reclaimed by irriga- 
tion and drainage — a subject with which this Conference is partly 
to deal. We began with an unapproached heritage of forests; more 
than half of the timber is gone. We began with coal fields more 
extensive than those of any other nation and with iron ores regarded 



CONSERVATION 407 

as inexhaustible, and many experts now declare that the end of both 
iron and coal is in sight. . . . 

We have become great in a material sense because of the lavish The time 
use of our resources, and we have just reason to be proud of our ^^^ ^°"^^ 

for conser- 

growth. But the time has come to inquire seriously what will happen vation. 
when our forests are gone, when the coal, the iron, the oil, and the gas 
are exhausted, when the soils shall have been still further impover- 
ished and washed into the streams, polluting the rivers, denuding 
the fields, and obstructing navigation. These questions do not re- 
late only to the next century or to the next generation. One 
distinguishing characteristic of really civilized men is foresight; we 
have, as a nation, to exercise foresight for this nation in the fu- 
ture; and if we do not exercise that foresight, dark will be the 
future! j^Appkuse.] . . . 

176. Declaration of the Conference of Governors ^ 

During the three days of the Conference of Governors numerous The corn- 
papers and discussions on the subject of conservation were offered. °" ee on 
On the last day of the conference, the committee on resolutions submits a 
submitted a declaration which was unanimously adopted by the ^'^^''^tion. 
members of the Conference as embodying their conclusions on the 
question of conservation. This declaration was as follows: 

We, the Governors of the States and Territories of the United Our pros- 
States, in conference assembled, do hereby declare the conviction pendent^" 
that the great prosperity of our country rests upon the abundant upon 
resources of the land chosen by our forefathers for their homes and ^g^jj-j^ 
where they laid the foundation of this great nation. 

We look upon these resources as a heritage to be made use of in Resources 
estabhshing and promoting the comfort, prosperity, and happiness ^^sted 
of the American people, but not to be wasted, . deteriorated, or 
needlessly destroyed. 

We agree that our country's future is involved in this; that the 
great natural resources supply the material basis on which our civi- 
lization must continue to depend, and on which the perpetuity of 
the nation itself rests. 

1 From the Conference of Governors in the White House, Washington, D. C, 
May 13-15, 1908. Proceedings. Washington, 1909; pp. 192-194. 



4o8 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



These re- 
sources 
threatened 
with ex- 
haustion. 



Necessity 
of coopera- 
tion. 



Measures 
recom- 
mended. 



The 

President 

commended. 



We agree, in the light of facts brought to our knowledge, and 
from information received from sources which we can not doubt, 
that this material basis is threatened with exhaustion. Even as each 
succeeding generation from the birth of the nation has performed 
its part in promoting the progress and development of the Republic, 
so do we in this generation recognize it as a high duty to perform 
our part; and this duty in large degree lies in the adoption of meas- 
ures for the conservation of the natural wealth of the country. 
[Applause.] 

We declare our firm conviction that this conservation of our 
natural resources is a subject of transcendent importance, which 
should engage unremittingly the attention of the nation, the states, 
and the people in earnest cooperation. These natural resources 
include the land on which we live and which yields our food; the 
living waters which fertilize the soil, supply power, and form great 
avenues of commerce; the forests which jdeld the materials for our 
homes, prevent erosion of the soil, and conserve the navigation and 
other uses of our streams; and the minerals which form the basis 
of our industrial life, and supply us with heat, light, and power. 

We agree that the land should be so used that erosion and soil- 
wash shall cease; that there should be reclamation of arid and semi- 
arid regions by means of irrigation, and of swamp and overflowed 
regions by means of drainage; that the waters should be so conserved 
and used as to promote navigation, to enable the arid regions to be 
reclaimed by irrigation, and to develop power in the interests of the 
people; that the forests which regulate our rivers, support our 
industries, and promote the fertility and productiveness of the 
soil shotild be preserved and perpetuated; that the minerals found 
so abundantly beneath the surface should be so used as to prolong 
their utiHty; that the beauty, healthftdness, and habitabUity of 
our country should be preserved and increased; that the sources 
of national wealth exist for the benefit of the people, and that 
monopoly thereof shotild not be tolerated. [Applause.] 

We commend the wise forethought of the President in sounding 
the note of warning as to the waste and exhaustion of the. natural 
resources of the country, and signify our high appreciation of his 
action in calling this conference to consider the same and to seek 



CONSERVATION 409 

remedies therefor through cooperation of the nation and the states. 
[Applause.] 

We agree that this cooperation should find expression in suitable The call 
action by the Congress within the Hmit of and coextensive with the ^?^ coopera- 

•' tion. 

national jurisdiction of the subject, and, complementary thereto, 
by the legislatures of the several states within the Urnits of and 
coextensive with their jurisdiction. 

We declare the conviction that in the use of the natural resources 
our independent states are interdependent and bound together by 
ties of mutual benefits, responsibiUties and duties. [Applause.] . . . 

Let us conserve the foundations of our prosperity. [Great Ap- 
plause.] . . . 

177. A National Conservation Association formed ^ 

The Conference of Governors recognized that effective direction Need of a 

of the conservation movement would necessitate a national organiza- coordinating 

agency in 
tion to coordinate the numerous forces involved in the movement, conservation 

The outcome of this feeling was the appointment of a National ,'^^ *° ^^^ 

formation 
Conservation Commission, which prepared the first inventory of of the 

our natural resources which was ever made. This commission was ^^.tional 

Conservation 
short-lived, but the need for some coordinating organization was Association. 

increasingly great. To meet this need a group of public-spirited 

citizens in 1909 organized the National Conservation Association, 

the nature and aims of which are explained in the following selection: 

The National Conservation Association is fighting for the prompt what the 

and orderly development of our natural resources, for the welfare Association 

IS fighting 
of ourselves and our children, and for the rights of the plain people, for. 

The Association is bound neither by poHtical considerations nor 

official connections. It is free to speak the whole truth. 

That conservation means the use of our natural resources for 
the benefit of us all and not merely for the profit of a few is already 
household knowledge. The task which the National Conservation 
Association has set itself is to get this principle put into practical 
effect . . . . 

The headquarters of the Association are in Washington. Central 

1 From the National Conservation Association, Publicity pamphlet entitled 
National Conservation Association, What It Is. Washington, igog. 



4IO 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



The organ- 
ization of 
the Asso- 
ciation. 



Appointment 
of collab- 
orators. 



What the 
Association 
is doing. 



offices are necessary, and Washington, as the seat of the Federal 
Government, is the best place for them. But it is reaUzed that to 
take the fullest advantage of its opportunity for national service, 
the Association must do its work not merely from and in Washington, 
but in the closest possible touch with the friends of conservation 
and the local questions which confront them throughout the United 
States. To this end the Association is uniting in effort with other 
organized bodies, state and individual, which stand for conserva- 
tion. . . . By organized leadership in the conservation movement 
the Association brings to the wise settlement of local conservation 
questions, by legislation or otherwise, the prompt support of other 
forces enUsted in the fight for conservation. 

Another exceedingly effective method followed by the Association 
for increasing its field of usefulness is through the appointment of 
collaborators for towns and cities. These local representatives of 
the Association are men and women, prominent in the conservation 
movement, who are willing to give their own time and effort in act- 
ing as sources from which is spread a knowledge of the work and 
purpose of the Association. ... 

Through these agencies and through its counsel the Association 
is keeping watch upon all legislation within the conservation field. 
It is drafting and recommending both to Congress and to state legis- 
latures good laws for conserving our natural resources. Through 
its bulletins the Association is telling its members promptly and plainly 
when and how to strike. These bulletins deal simply and without 
reservation with conservation measures pending or proposed. If 
a bill promotes conservation the Association will tell the truth about 
it, no matter who its author may be or what interests are behind it. 

The influence of the Association upon legislation is already making 
itself felt. But its work has only begun. Only if the friends of con- 
servation stand shoulder to shoulder can that work be finished in 
time. 

178. The principles ot conservation ^ 

If the resources of the nation are really to be conserved, we shall 

have to do something more than draw up or formulate mere state- 

^ From the National Conservation Association, Statement of Principles. Wash- 
ington, 1909. 



CONSERVATION 41 1 

ments of principles; on the other hand, the magnitude and complexity Importance 

of the problem render it necessary to get principles and issues clearly ^ / Y 

in mind before specific legislation is advocated. It is, therefore, principles 

important to formulate and summarize the principles which ought |^^ ^ prelude 

to govern conservation. One of the most concrete statements of work, 
principles is that of the National Conservation Association, formu- 
lated in 1909. This statement is as follows: 

[The following measures are important]: Conservation 

The protection of the source waters of navigable streams, through "le^^sures 

recom- 
the purchase or control by the nation of the necessary land within mended by 

their drainage basins, especially in the southern Appalachians and *J^^ National 

Conservation 
the White Mountams. Association 

The enactment and enforcement, both by the nation and by the *'^^ respect 

to forests, 
several states, of effective laws to prevent, by active patrol during 

dry weather, and by other appropriate means, the spreading of 

fire in all forests, whether pubKcly or privately owned. 

The reasonable but effective pubHc regulation of timber cutting 
on forest land, whether publicly or privately owned, the conservation 
of which is essential to the public welfare. 

The separation, for purposes of taxation, of the timber from the 
land on which it grows, so that the forest crop shall be taxed only 
when it is harvested, while the land shall be taxed every year. 

The support and extension of practical forestry. 

The preparation, by a commission appointed by the President waters, 
of the United States, of a comprehensive plan for waterways im- 
provement, extending to all the uses of the waters and the benefits 
to be derived from their control, including navigation, with the 
relation of railroads and terminals thereto, the development and 
disposition of water power, the irrigation of arid lands, the drainage 
of swamp and overflowed lands, the control of floods, the prevention of 
soil wash, and the purification of streams for water supply. 

[The inclusion, in all future grants of water power rights, of pro- 
visions which will adequately protect the rights of the state and 
nation.] . . . 

The support and extension of the irrigation of arid lands and the lands, 
drainage of swamp and overflowed lands. 

The directing of public attention to the need for preserving the 



412 READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 

fertility of our soils, and thus protecting the future food supply of 
our people. 

The enactment of legislation whereby the title to the surface of 

public lands and to the minerals therein shall be granted separately, 

with every appropriate facility to miners to acquire such part of 

the surface as may be needed in the development of their claims. 

The conservation and control of the unappropriated public range 

lands by the government in the interests of the stockman and home 

maker, and subject at all times to homestead entry. 

and The retention by the government of the title to all lands still 

mmerals. ^^ public ownership which contain phosphate rock, coal oil, or natural 

gas, and the development of the same by private enterprise, under 

conditions that will prevent extortion and waste. 

The enactment of appropriate legislation to prolong our coal 
supply, to reduce waste in mining, and to establish sufficient safe- 
guards against the loss of life in mines. ... 
The measures The foregoing enumeration is intended to indicate the general 
enumerated character of some of the measures which this organization believes 

above do ... 

not exhaust should be adopted to carry the principles of conservation into practi- 
u 1^^^ ^^^ effect. It will, however, cooperate in every appropriate way with 

1116 ASSO" 

ciation. Other organizations and with the state and national officials to cover 

the entire field of the conservation and development of our natural 
resources, and to bring to this cooperation the vigorous support of 
an intelligent and disinterested citizenship. 



179. The legal basis of conservation^ 

Importance An important element in the conservation movement is the legal 
of the legal j.jgj^|. q£ state governments to regulate privately-owned natural 

D3.S1S 01 

conservation, resources within their borders. Wishing this phase of the situation 
to be clearly defined, the Senate of the State of Maine in igoy sub- 
mitted to the Supreme Court of the commonwealth certain ques- 
tions as to the right of the legislature to check and prevent the un- 
economical use of privately owned resources. The opinion of the 
Court was that the property rights of the individual are subordinate 

1 Questions submitted by the Senate of the State of Maine to the justices of 
the Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, March 27, 1907, with the answers of the 
justices thereon. (103 Maine, 506.) 



CONSERVATION 413 

to the rights of the community, and that the waste of privately Opinion of 

owned resources may properly be prevented by state legislation. * ^ ^^^^ 

Some extracts from the opinion of the Court follow: Court: 

We find that the legislature has, by the constitution, "full power Preliminary 

to make and estabhsh all reasonable laws and regulations for the statement 

3.S to tnc 

defense and benefit of the people of this state, not repugnant to this power of 

constitution nor that of the United States." It is for the legislature \ ^^'^' 

lature. 

to determine from time to time the occasion and what laws and 
regulations are necessary or expedient for the defense and benefit 
of the people; and however inconvenienced, restricted, or even 
damaged particular persons and corporations may be, such general 
laws and regulations are to be held valid unless there can be pointed 
out some provision in the state or United States Constitution which 
clearly prohibits them. ... 

[With regard to the status of private property rights, we refer to 
the opinion of Chief Justice Shaw, expressed as follows]: 

"We think it a settled principle, growing out of the nature of well- Private 

ordered civil society, that every holder of property, however abso- "^ ividuals 

lute and unqualified may be his title, holds it under the implied Ha- use their 

bility that his use of it may be so regulated that it shall not be injurious P^p^y m 
•^ ^ o J such a way 

to the equal enjoyment of others having an equal right to the enjoy- as to injure 
ment of their property, nor injurious to the rights of the community. ^^^ nghts 
AU property in this commonwealth ... is derived directly or in- community, 
directly from the government and held subject to those general 
regulations which are necessary for the common good and general 
welfare. Rights of property, Uke all other social and conventional 
rights, are subject to such reasonable Hmitations in their enjoyment 
as shall prevent them from being injurious, and to such reasonable 
restraints and regulations established by law as the legislature, under 
the governing and controlling power vested in them by the consti- 
tution, may think necessary and expedient. ..." 
There are two reasons of great weight for applying [^a] strict con- Why the 

struction of the constitutional provision to property in land: pubhc may 

^ r- r- ./ control and 

First, such property is not the result of productive labor, but is limit the 

derived solely from the state itself, the original owner; "^f °^ 

•^ . private 

Second, the amount of land being incapable of increase, if the property. 
owners of large tracts can waste them at will without state restric- 



414 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Conclusion 
of the 
Court. 



tion, the state and its people may be helplessly impoverished and one 
great purpose of government defeated. . . . 

The foregoing considerations lead us to the opinion [that the leg- 
islature of the state of Maine has the power to enact legislation de- 
signed to prohibit, restrict, or regulate the utilization of privately 
owned natural resources, where such prohibition, restriction or 
regulation is necessary to the protection of the pubUc interest.] 



Much has 
been done, 
but much 
more re- 
mains to 
be done. 



Federal 
legislation 
needed with 
respect to 
fire pro- 
tection and 
forest 
renewal, 



the ex- 
tension and 
consolidation 
of Federal 
forest 
holdings, 



180. Needed conservation legislation ^ 

Since the historic Conference of Governors in igo8, the movement 
for the conservation of natural resources in the United States has 
become national in scope. Notable progress has been made toward 
conserving forests, water power, land, and minerals. Nevertheless, 
the conservation movement is stiU in its infancy, and the amount of 
work to be done greatly exceeds the amount already accompHshed. 
In the conservation of forests, for example, much progress has been 
made, yet this phase of the movement is retarded by the lack of help- 
ful legislation. In 1920 the Forest Service in the United States De- 
partment of Agriculture summed up the need for legislation on 
forest conservation as foUows: 

Legislation is needed . . . which will enable the Forest Service 
to assist the respective states in fire protection, methods of cutting 
forests, reforestation, and the classification of lands as between tim- 
ber production and agriculture. It should carry an initial annual 
appropriation of not less than $1,000,000, expendable in cooperation 
with the states, with a proviso that the amount expended in any 
state during any year shaU not exceed the expenditures of the state 
for the same purposes. . . . 

Legislation is needed . . . which will permit the rapid enlarge- 
ment of the national forests and the consolidation of existing forest 
units for more effective administration. This legislation should: 

(a) Continue the purchase of forest or cut-over lands, as initiated 
under the Weeks Act, with annual appropriations of at least $2,- 
000,000. 

1 From the United States Department of Agriculture, Department Circular 112, 
Timber Depletion and the Answer. Washington, June, 1920; pp. 10-16. 



CONSERVATION 415 

(6) Authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to exchange national 
forest land, timber, or transferrable timber certificates for private 
timbered or cut-over land within or adjoining existing national 
forests. 

(c) Withhold from any form of alienation, except under the mineral 
laws, aU lands now in government ownership or control but not em- 
braced in national forests or national parks, including canceled 
patents or grants, unreserved public lands, and Indian and miUtary 
reservations, which are valuable chiefly for the production of timber 
or protection of watersheds, and aU lands of similar character here- 
after revested in or acquired by the United States; and authorize the 
President upon recommendation of the National Forest Reservation 
Commission, or otherwise, to incorporate such lands in national 
forests. . . . 

The current appropriations of the Forest Service should provide reforestation 
for the progressive reforestation of denuded lands in national forests ° denuded 
to be completed in not more than 20 years, with a yearly sum begin- lands, 
ning at $500,000 and increasing to $1,000,000 as soon as the work 
can be organized on that scale. . . . 

Legislation carrying a moderate appropriation is needed which and the 
will authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to study the effects of f^^ 
the existing tax methods and practices upon forest devastation, ation and 
to devise model laws on forest taxation, and to cooperate with state 'insurance. 
agencies in promoting their adoption. [Forest insurance should 
also be studied.] 

[The following state legislation on forests is recommended]: state 

State laws should provide for the organized protection of all forest '^^'j''^j'°'^-.u 
lands in the state, during periods of fire hazard, the protected areas respect to 
to include all cut-over and unimproved land as well as bodies of ^^^ ?^^' , 

■^ _ vention and 

timber. The protective system should include patrols during dry reforestation, 
weather, lookout stations, fire breaks and roads where effective, 
and organized fire-fighting forces. . . . Police regulations for the 
control of fire during dry periods in connection with railroad or in- 
dustrial operations near forest land, land clearing or slash disposal, 
hunting, etc., and for the control of incendiarism, form an essential 
feature of the protective system. 

State laws should establish the responsibility of owners of forest 



4i6 . 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



and state 
and munici- 
pal forests. 



land for complying with such equitable requirements as may be 
determined upon and promulgated by the proper state agency, 
deaUng with precautions against forest fires, the disposal of slashings, 
methods of cutting timber or of extracting particular forest prod- 
ucts, such as naval stores or pulpwood, and such other equitable 
requirements as the authorized state agency shall determine upon 
as necessary to prevent devastation. . . . 

Supplementing the poUcy of forest acquisition by the Federal 
government, every state, including states in the prairie region, 
should acquire forest land or lands adapted to tree growth and 
provide systematically for the planting of such areas as will not 
otherwise restock with timber of valuable species. . . . State laws 
should encourage the acquisition of forest lands by municipalities, 
to the end that public forest ownership may be extended by any 
agencies capable of undertaking it. . . . 



Questions on the foregoing Readings 

1. In what period of our history did the conservation movement 

begin? 

2. What important step toward conservation was taken by President 

Roosevelt in 1908? 

3. What problem was considered by the Conference of Governors? 

4. Compare the use of natural resources in the days of Washington 

with their use in recent times. 

5. When is conservation necessary? Why? 

6. What did the committee on resolutions of the Conference of 

Governors say as to the need of cooperation in the conservation 
question? 

7. What remedial measures were recommended by this committee? 

8. What service was performed by the National Conservation Com- 

mission? 

9. Why was the National Conservation Association formed? 

10. What is this association fighting for? 

11. Outline the organization of the association. 

12. What is the relation between the formulation of principles of 

conservation and remedial legislation? 

13. Outline the conservation measures recommended by the National 

Conservation Association with respect to forests. 

14. What measures were recommended with respect to water? 

15. What measures were recommended with respect to land? 



CONSERVATION 417 

x6. What measures were recommended with resi)ecl to minerals? 

17. What is the importance of determining the legal status of con- 

servation? 

18. What did the Maine Supreme Court say as to the general powers 

of the state legislature? 

19. What, in the opinion of the Court, are two reasons why the public 

may control and limit the use of private property? 

20. What was the conclusion of the Court with respect to the power 

of the legislature to control the use of natural resources? 

21. Outline some needed Federal legislation with respect to fire pro- 

tection and forest renewal. 

22. Outline some needed Federal legislation with respect to the ex- 

tension and consolidation of Federal forest holdings. 

23. What Federal legislation is needed with respect to the reforestation 

of denuded lands? 

24. Outline the state legislation needed with respect to fire prevention 

and reforestation. 

25. What recommendations are made by the United States Forest 

Service with respect to needed legislation on state and munic- 
ipal forests? 



CHAPTER XXXI 



Importance 
of the 
commercial 
bank. 



The gold- 
smith who 
is becoming 
a banker 
notices that 
some of the 
deposits are 
not called 
for, 



and so 
decides to 
put these 
out on 
short-time 
loans. 



CREDIT AND BANKING 
181. The function of the commercial bank ^ 

There are many types of financial agencies in any modern in- 
dustrial community, but probably the most important of these is the 
commercial bank. During the last few decades, an increasingly 
large amount of the nation's business has been carried on with the 
help of this agency. Professor H. G. Moulton has tried to explain 
the rise of the commercial bank by the story of the goldsmith. In 
former times, people with surplus money began the practice of leav- 
ing their funds with the goldsmith, and drawing out sums, as they 
needed them, by means of checks. Professor Moulton continues: 

Every day people present orders or checks drawn by the different 
depositors against their respective accounts. To my surprise, [the 
goldsmith is speaking] I learn that about three times out of four 
the man who presents the order does not withdraw cash, but instead 
asks for a credit account with me against which he can draw checks 
when he wishes to make payments. Everybody remarks how 
much more convenient and how much less risky it is when one does 
not have to transfer the actual money. 

I ponder over the fact that only once in four times does anyone 
ask for cash. I have $100,000 with which to pay $100,000 in claims 
against me, but I am never called upon to pay more than $25,000 at 
one time. Why not, therefore, loan $75,000 at interest and increase 
my profits? I try this and find that my ability to pay $100,000 is 
not impaired so long as I make short- time loans of a kind that are 
sure to be paid promptly when they fall due. So long as only one 
dollar in four is called for in cash, a 25 per cent reserve of specie is 
all that is necessary. 

Finally I get a new idea. Instead of loaning $75,000 of my cash, 

1 From the United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Education. 
Lessons in Community and National Life. Washington, igi 8. Series A; pp. 189-192. 

418 



I 



CREDIT AND BANKING 419 

why not plan to keep the whole $100,000 as a reserve and . . . create The business 
claims against me equal to $400,000? I try out this idea. I loan '^ expanded. 
$300,000 to business men. I give them credit accounts against me, 
and for the sake of convenience they write checks against these 
accounts rather than withdraw the actual money when they wish to 
make payments. I find that the people who receive the checks are 
no more desirous of taking away cash than were the people with 
whom I dealt before. Now, as formerly, one-fourth of the checks 
are presented for cash and three-fourths are deposited with me as 
credit accounts. Thus I carry a total of $400,000 and need only 
$100,000 actual cash with which to pay. Since most people pre- 
fer a credit account I am able to meet all claims with my cash 
reserve of 25 per cent of my outstanding accounts. 

Commercial banks to-day make loans to business men amounting The function 

to billions of dollars annually. These loans are mainly for short . , 

_ _ commercial 

periods, and business men use them largely for working capital bank, 
rather than for plants and equipment. The modern business man- 
ager . . . borrows funds on short time with which to buy raw 
materials for manufacture and stocks of merchandise for sale. It 
is the function of the commercial bank to furnish this working capital. 

In the loaning of funds the banker has to exercise a great deal The banker 

of judgment. If he loans to business men who are inefficient, or ^^ f Jydge 
■^ _ _ _ of busmess 

dishonest, or engaged in hnes of business which are speculative activities. 
in their nature, he may find that his loans are not repaid at the date 
of maturity. There may be heavy losses involved, which reduce 
the banker's profits. Even slow payments are looked upon with 
disfavor by the banker because his ability to expand his own obU- 
gations as described above depends largely upon the certainty and 
promptness with which his debtors pay him. The banker there- 
fore makes a careful study both of the borrower and of his busi- 
ness before a loan is granted. . . . 

182. Our banking system before 1913 ^ 

Since Civil War days the basis of our financial organization has 
been the national banking system. This system was highly defective 

1 From the National Citizens' League for the Promotion of a Sound Banking 
System, Banking Reform. The National Citizens' League, etc., Chicago, 1912; 
pp. 7-9, 12. ■ . _ ' 



420 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Before 1913 
our banking 
system was 
highly 
defective. 



Before 1913, 
small banks 
customarily 
redeposited 
a large 
share of 
their reserves 
in larger 
banks. 



Extent of 
this practice. 



Inter- 
dependence 
of the banks. 



until amended by the Federal Reserve Act of 1913. Prior to 1913 
the great majority of national banks were national in name onJy. 
Except for the rather loose association of the banks in the clearing 
houses of our principal cities, most of these banks were independent 
units, each working for itself. There was Uttle teamwork. The 
banks were sufficiently dependent upon- one another to render one 
sensitive to the financial condition of other institutions, but there 
was no adequate method by which the strong banks in the system 
could extend aid to banks temporarily embarrassed. This important 
point was developed in the 191 2 report of the National Citizens' 
League for the Promotion of a Sound Banking System, as follows: 

Under the terms of the National Banking Act, no bank is per- 
mitted to establish branches. [This was written in 191 2, before 
the passage of the Federal Reserve Act.] Every bank is presumably 
an independent institution. . . . Country banks are required to 
hold a reserve equal to 15 per cent of their outstanding liabiKties, 
and may re-deposit nine per cent of it with reserve city banks. 
They thus retain in their own vaults, at the minimum, cash equal 
to only six per cent of their outstanding liabilities. The reserve 
city banks [in turn] . . . are required to hold a reserve equal to 25 
per cent of their outstanding liabilities, [but] may re-deposit one- 
half of this . . . with banks in central reserve cities. . . . 

As a matter of fact the banks have availed themselves of this 
reserve provision very extensively, and much of the present so- 
called reserves consists not of cash in their vaults but of deposits 
in other banks in reserve cities. At a recent date of report to the 
Comptroller of the Currency, about 551 millions of doUars represented 
the total reserve held by country banks, while of this sum only 
246 millions was actually in the possession of these banks in the 
form of lawful money. All the national banks of the country had 
reserves of 1,404 millions, of which only 862 miUions was actual 
lawful money in hand. 

[Thus the smaller banks are profoundly interested in the condi- 
tion of the banks in which they have deposited a large share of their 
reserves. To the latter] they look for the resources which wiU enable 
them to fin up their own reserves in times of sudden demand for 
payment. To them they look for accommodation through direct 



distress 
for all. 



CREDIT AND BANKING 421 

loans, or through the discounting of paper, or through some one of 
the various methods which are employed for granting relief to the 
smaller institutions when the stronger and larger banks are in posi- 
tion to afford such aid. 

Conversely, the city banks look with interest to the outside insti- 
tutions as the source of deposits which they expect to use in times 
of financial ease and slack business in the country, for the purpose of 
facilitating transactions in the cities and general financial operations. 

[Thus the banks are intimately connected with one another, in fact, Distress 
they are inter-dependent, so that the distress of one bank may affect r"^ ^'^^ 
all of the banks with which it has business relations. The difficulty mean 
is that these banks, though inter-dependent, have no way of helping 
one another when the distress of one threatens to work a hardship 
on other institutions.] The larger banks have scanty means of 
knowing the details of one another's affairs and no means at all of 
enforcing their own ideas upon one another in any case. The 
smaller banks, while to an extent overseen and influenced by the 
larger, are not in touch with one another or able to judge of the 
movement of credit in the operations of the other institutions. . . . 

The fundamental defect of the national banking system is [that 

it is] a series of banks artificially grouped. Because of the lack of defect in oui 

cooperative or fundamental relationships between the institutions, "^'^'""S 
_ ^ ' system prior 

it is not possible for them to exercise any general pohcy with reference to igi3. 
to the control of reserves, the fixing of rates of discount, or the grant- 
ing of loans. They can only act independently of one another, and 
the well-conducted institutions must, therefore, suffer from the 
mistakes of others whose conduct tends to arouse suspicion or alarm 
in the mind of the pubhc. Because of this situation, it will be seen, 
the national banking system as at present conducted is in a sense 
a breeder of panics, while it fails entirely to grant any adequate 
reUef from these 'commercial convulsions. . . . 

183. The panic of 1907 * 

If we confine our attention to the defect brought out in the pre- 
ceding selection, it wiU be seen that an important objection to our 

1 From the National Monetary Commission, History of Crises under the National 
Banking System. Washington, igio; pp. 253-256, 258-259. 



The 
fundamental 



422 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Panics in 
American 
history prior 
to 1913. 



Runs upon 
three New 
York banks 
in October, 
1907. 



Money 

becomes 

tight. 



Pressure 
upon the 
clearing- 
house banks. 



banking system prior to 1913 was this: the banks were dependent 
upon one another, but such dependence was unsafe because of the 
lack of any machinery which would enable the banks effectively 
to help one another in time of stress. Several notable panics have 
illustrated this weakness of the old national banking system. The 
failure of the national banking system to meet emergency situations 
during the panic of 1907 is described by Professor O. M. W. Sprague 
in the following selection: 

On Wednesday, October 23 [1907], a run began on the Trust 
Company of America [New York City], the second of the trust 
companies in size, having deposits of $64,000,000. . . . The company 
withstood a run which continued for two weeks, during which it 
paid out some $34,000,000; on Wednesday and Thursday paying 
$12,000,000 and $9,000,000. The Trust Company of America and 
also the Lincoln Trust Company, upon which a run began on 
Thursday, were assisted . . . [chiefly] because it was clear that 
the foundation of the entire credit structure was endangered. The 
steps taken, however, were slow and the means adopted were not 
sufficiently clear in import to restore general confidence. . . , 

During the three days of heavy runs upon the trust companies 
New York was threatened with a general panic, and a number of 
other trust companies experienced runs of varying degrees of severity. 
A few small mismanaged banking institutions in the outskirts of 
the city were forced to suspend. Depositors began to withdraw money 
from savings banks, and [the latter] were obliged to exercise their 
right to require sixty days' notice. Loans could be secured only with 
extreme difficulty and the fall in stock exchange prices . . . was 
alarmingly violent. . . . The strenuous efforts that were made to 
relieve the situation were but partially successful, because they 
lacked the authority and backing of the Clearing House Associa- 
tion. As in the case of the Trust Company of America, the relief 
afforded was of a piecemeal character without any certainty of 
its continuance. . . . 

During the three days of heavy runs upon the trust companies 
the strain upon the clearing-house banks was very severe, as they 
had to furnish most of the money required by the trust companies, 
whose reserves had been deposited with them. At the same time they 



CREDIT AND BANKING 423 

were shipping money to the interior banks, and they also suffered 

some loss from paymehts to their own frightened depositors. ... 

Had New York been a city with only local responsibilities it is Alarm 

probable that the disturbance would have gone no further; but, as sp''^^'^f 
'^ . . throughout 

in 1873 and in 1893, the disasters in New York had caused alarm the country. 

to spread throughout the country. [There] came telegraphic 

demands from all over the country, including the other central 

reserve cities, for the caUing of loans and the shipment of 

currency. . . . Everywhere the banks suddenly found themselves 

confronted with demands for money by frightened depositors; every- Outlying 

where, also, banks manifested a lack of confidence in each other. "^^^ 

demand 
Country banks drew money from city banks and all the banks the reserves 

throughout the country demanded the return of funds deposited ^'h|ch they 

had de- 
or on loan in New York. The evidence of lack of confidence in and posited in 

between the banks is clear, and it points to a serious difficulty in \^^ ,^^f^ , 

York banks, 
carrying on banking in this country. . . . 

184. The Federal Reserve System ^ 

Following the panic of 1907, there was widespread agitation for As a result 

the reform of our banking system. Banking systems in European °^ ^^^ P^"^^ 

of 1Q07, the 
countries were investigated, and the defects of our national bank- Federal 

ing system were thoroughly studied. As the result of a great deal Reserve 

.^ct of 1913 
of discussion and compromise, there was enacted on December is passed. 

23, 1 9 13, the Federal Reserve Act, which amended and strengthened 
our national banking system. This act marked a compromise be- 
tween a centralized and a decentralized system, i.e. it allowed our 
banking system to remain decentralized, but it guaranteed some 
of the fundamental advantages of a centrahzed and coordinated 
banking system. The general organization of this new Federal 
Reserve System is described by Professor Sprague as follows: 

The primary purpose of the Federal Reserve Act of December 23, Purpose 
1913, is to make certain that there will always be an available sup- 
ply of money and credit in this country with which to meet unusual 
banking requirements. Banks of a new class, to be known as Federal 
Reserve Banks, are to be established, and upon these banks is to 

' From the Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. xxvin. February, 1914. O. M. 
W. Sprague. "The Federal Reserve Act of 1913"; pp. 213-215, 223-224, 226-227. 



of the Act. 



422 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Panics in 
American 
history prior 
to 1913. 



Runs upon 
three New 
York banks 
in October, 
1907. 



Money 

becomes 

tight. 



Pressure 
upon the 
clearing- 
house banks. 



banking system prior to 19 13 was this: the banks were dependent 
upon one another, but such dependence was unsafe because of the 
lack of any machinery which would enable the banks effectively 
to help one another in time of stress. Several notable panics have 
illustrated this weakness of the old national banking system. The 
failure of the national banking system to meet emergency situations 
during the panic of 1907 is described by Professor O. M. W. Sprague 
in the following selection: 

On Wednesday, October 23 [1907], a run began on the Trust 
Company of America [New York City], the second of the trust 
companies in size, having deposits of $64,000,000. . . . The company 
withstood a run which continued for two weeks, during which it 
paid out some $34,000,000; on Wednesday and Thursday paying 
$12,000,000 and $9,000,000. The Trust Company of America and 
also the Lincoln Trust Company, upon which a run began on 
Thursday, were assisted . . . [chiefly] because it was clear that 
the foundation of the entire credit structure was endangered. The 
steps taken, however, were slow and the means adopted were not 
sufficiently clear in import to restore general confidence. . . . 

During the three days of heavy runs upon the trust companies 
New York was threatened with a general panic, and a number of 
other trust companies experienced runs of var}dng degrees of severity. 
A few small mismanaged banking institutions in the outskirts of 
the city were forced to suspend. Depositors began to withdraw money 
from savings banks, and [the latter] were obUged to exercise their 
right to require sixty days' notice. Loans could be secured only with 
extreme difficulty and the fall in stock exchange prices , . . was 
alarmingly violent. . . . The strenuous efforts that were made to 
relieve the situation were but partially successful, because they 
lacked the authority and backing of the Clearing House Associa- 
tion. As in the case of the Trust Company of America, the relief 
afforded was of a piecemeal character without any certainty of 
its continuance. . . . 

During the three days of heavy runs upon the trust companies 
the strain upon the clearing-house banks was very severe, as they 
had to furnish most of the money required by the trust companies, 
whose reserves had been deposited with them. At the same time they 



CREDIT AND BANKING 423 

were shipping money to the interior banks, and they also suffered 

some loss from payments to their own frightened depositors. ... 

Had New York been a city with only local responsibilities it is Alarm 

probable that the disturbance would have gone no further; but, as ^P''^^'^^ 
: . ... throughout 

m 1873 and in 1893, the disasters in New York had caused alarm the country. 

to spread throughout the country. [There] came telegraphic 

demands from all over the country, including the other central 

reserve cities, for the calling of loans and the shipment of 

currency. . . . Everywhere the banks suddenly found themselves 

confronted with demands for money by frightened depositors; every- Outlying 

where, also, banks manifested a lack of confidence in each other, ^anks 

demand 
Country banks drew money from city banks and all the banks the reserves 

throughout the country demanded the return of funds deposited which they 

had de- 
or on loan m New York. The evidence of lack of confidence in and posited in 

between the banks is clear, and it points to a serious difiiculty in ^^^ ^^^ 

,,..,. York banks. 

carrying on banking in this country. . . . 

184. The Federal Reserve System ^ 

Following the panic of 1907, there was widespread agitation for As a result 

the reform of our banking system. Banking systems In European °^ ^^^ P'^"'*^ 

oi 1907, the 
countries were investigated, and the defects of our national bank- Federal 

ing system were thoroughly studied. As the result of a great deal Reserve 

. . Act of 1913 

of discussion and compromise, there was enacted on December is passed. 

23, 1913, the Federal Reserve Act, which amended and strengthened 
our national banking system. This act marked a compromise be- 
tween a centralized and a decentralized system, i.e. it allowed our 
banking system to remain decentralized, but it guaranteed some 
of the fundamental advantages of a centralized and coordinated 
banking system. The general organization of this new Federal 
Reserve System is described by Professor Sprague as follows: 

The primary purpose of the Federal Reserve Act of December 23 , Purpose 
1913, is to make certain that there will always be an available sup- °^ ^^^ ^^*" 
ply of money and credit in this country with which to meet unusual 
banking requirements. Banks of a new class, to be known as Federal 
Reserve Banks, are to be established, and upon these banks is to 

1 From the Quarterly Journal of Economics, Vol. xxvin. February, 1914. O. M. 
W. Sprague. "The Federal Reserve Act of 1913"; pp. 213-215, 223-224, 226-227. 



424 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Duties and 
powers of 
the Federal 
Reserve 
Banks. 



Each Federal 
Reserve 
Bank a 
central bank. 



Provisions 
of the Act 
with regard 
to member 
banks. 



rest the heavy responsibility of supporting the structure of credit 
in periods of financial strain. The new banks are expected to keep 
themselves in a condition of such strength in ordinary times that 
the other banks may safely rely upon them for all needed cash and 
credit in emergencies. 

In the past, the banks in this country, when subjected to financial 
pressure, have relied mainly upon loan contraction and the seUing 
of securities. In the future it is expected that they will resort to 
the Federal Reserve Banks, securing additional funds from these 
by rediscounting commercial loans. . . . 

The Federal Reserve Banks are to exercise wide powers, and would 
seem likely to have ample resources. The country is to be divided 
into not less than eight, nor more than twelve districts, in each 
of which a Federal Reserve Bank is to be estabHshed. All national 
banks are required, and qualified state banking institutions are in- 
vited, to subscribe to the capital of the Reserve Bank of their district. 

Subscribing banks, to be known as member banks, are required to 
keep a part of their reserve with their Federal Reserve Bank. . . . 

CThe Federal Reserve Banks] will provide an elastic currency, 
issuing notes secured by their commercial assets. They are also 
empowered to undertake the business of collecting and clearing 
checks throughout the entire country, thus providing an organi- 
zation for making settlements between banks in different places, 
the lack of which has been one of the most serious defects in our 
banking system. 

Each Federal Reserve Bank will be a central bank for the section 
of the country which it is to serve. It will have all of the responsi- 
bilities and most of the powers of central banks in the various 
European countries. . , , 

The Federal Reserve Banks are to receive deposits from the govern- 
ment and from member banks only. Ordinarily they will lend to 
member banks only. . , . 

National banks are required, and properly qualified state banks 
are invited, to signify their acceptance of the terms of the act. . . . 
Each national bank must subscribe to the capital of the Reserve 
Bank of its district an amount equal to six per cent of its capital 
and surplus. ... 



CREDIT AND BANKING 425 

[The whole system is to be supervised and controlled by the The Federal 
Federal Reserve Board,] to consist of seven members; the Secre- g^^^j^^ 
tary of the Treasury and the Comptroller of the Currency ex officio, 
and five members appointed by the President. ... Of the five ap- 
pointed members, at least two must be persons experienced in bank- 
ing or finance. Not more than one shall be appointed from any Fed- 
eral Reserve district, and due regard is to be given to the different 
commercial, industrial and geographical divisions of the country. 
The term of office of the appointed members is ten years; but those 
first selected are to serve one for two, one for four years, and so on, 
so that the term of office of one member may expire every two 
years. ... 

Organization of the system will be complete with the selection The Federal 
of the members of the Federal Advisory Council. This Council is ^ visory 
to consist of as many members as there are Federal Reserve districts, and its 
the board of directors of each Federal Reserve Bank selecting one "■^'^'^'*^'^- 
member. The function and powers of the Council are purely con- 
sultative. It is to meet regularly four times each year at Washington, 
and at other times there or elsewhere if deemed necessary by the 
Council itself. It is authorized to confer directly with the Federal 
Reserve Board, to call for information, and make oral or written 
representations concerning matters within the jurisdiction of the 
Federal Reserve Board. . . . 

185. Centralization under the Federal Reserve System ^ 

At the time of the panic of 1907, the United States had the largest The Federal 

supply of gold of any country in the world. The difficulty was that g^gfj^^ 

under the old national banking system this supply of gold was in- provides 

effective, because widely scattered. A second difficulty was that centralization 

our reserves were not only scattered, but were immobile. There and mobility 



was no effective way of quickly gathering them together and massing 
them at the points of financial danger. These two difficulties the 
Federal Reserve System overcomes by provision for, first, the cen- 
tralization of bank reserves, and, second, the mobility of those 
reserves. The following discussion of this subject is by Dr. Kemmerer: 

1 From Edwin Walter Kemmerer, The A B C of the Federal Reserve System. 
Princeton University Press, Princeton, N. J., 1920; pp. 36-42, 48-49. 



of bank 
reserves. 



426 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Member 
banks must 
maintain 
their entire 
legal reserve 
in the 
Federal 
Reserve 
Bank of 
their district. 



This secures 
the district 
centralization 
of reserves. 



MobiHty of 
reserves 



between 
different 
Federal 
Reserve 
districts, 



[At the present time^ every bank, banking association or trust 
company belonging to the Federal Reserve System [must] maintain 
its entire legal reserve in the form of a deposit at the Federal Reserve 
Bank of its district. . . . [Thus commercial banks belonging to the 
system no longer tie] up their legal reserve money by depositing it 
in the banks of our money market centers, there to be loaned out 
at call to speculators on the stock and produce exchanges. This 
divorcing of the legal reserves of nearly 8,000 commercial banks from 
the speculative and capital loans of the stock market ... is one 
of the big achievements of the Federal Reserve System. The Federal 
Reserve law, as amended, recognizes only one form of legal reserve, 
and that is a member bank's deposit in its Federal Reserve Bank. 

Member banks may keep as much or as little cash on hand for 
till money as they wish to. They may keep balances in other banks 
if it suits their convenience to do so — all that is their own affair 
for which their responsibility is to their stock holders and their 
customers — but their legal reserve, the reserve which the Govern- 
ment looks upon as the minimum below which the public interest 
demands that banks should not go, that reserve must all be kept 
on deposit in Federal Reserve Banks, the nation's reservoirs of re- 
serve money. ... 

A corollary to the district centralization of reserves is their mobi- 
lization. Reserve money must not only be piped into a few large 
reservoirs, but these large reservoirs must be piped together, and 
there must be a pumping engine of sufficient power to force the 
reserves promptly and in large quantities to any place desired. The 
Federal Reserve System creates just this machinery. [It provides 
for the mobility of reserves, first, between the different districts of 
the system, and second, between the different member banks of any 
one district. MobiHty of reserves between different Federal Reserve 
districts is provided for in a number of ways, notably as follows:] 

In case there is an exceptionally heavy demand for reserve money 
in any section of the country — a demand heavier than the banks 
of that section can . reasonably meet — the reserve banks in other 
sections where money is more plentiful will come to the rescue, 
either voluntarily or under compulsion [by the Federal Reserve 
Board], and will rediscount the paper of the reserve bank in the 



CREDIT AND BANKING 427 

section under financial stress. This process, of course, will cause 
a flow of cash from the reserves of the former banks to the reserve 
of the latter, thereby easing the money market in the threatened 
section. . . . [Thus] the reserves of the twelve reserve banks are 
so closely piped together . . . that they may reasonably be con- 
sidered to be closely connected tanks of a single large reservoir. . . . 

[There is also provision for the mobility of reserves between the and between 
banks of a single Federal Reserve district.] The forces which act u^i!"'^'^ 
for the increasing mobility of reserve money within the boundaries any one 
of a Federal Reserve district are essentially the same as those just j^gg^^^g 
explained for that between districts. Obviously [commercial] paper district. 
of wide acceptability flows from place to place within a district more 
freely than paper whose merits are less widely recognized; and, 
within a district as between districts, the widely marketable paper 
flows from the places where the discount rates are high and bank 
funds scarce, to the places where the rates are low and funds are 
more plentiful. Furthermore, the bank reserves of the district 
which have been piped to the one reservoir, namely, the Federal 
Reserve Bank, can be readily pumped to the banks of any section 
where funds are in heavy demand. 

If banks throughout the district were rediscounting in moderate 
sums with the Federal Reserve Bank, and if a sudden emergency 
should cause an exceptionally heavy demand for funds in any section, 
the Federal Reserve Bank could raise its rate of discount, thereby 
reducing the rediscount demands of the banks less urgently in need 
of the funds, and could then turn larger amounts into the sectior 
where the demand was heaviest. ... 

186. Elasticity under the Federal Reserve System ^ 

In addition to providing for the centralization and mobility of In addition 

bank reserves, the Federal Reserve -Act secures a considerable degree centralization 

of elasticity. Elasticity means that the amount of money or credit and mobility 

will increase when a great deal of business is being transacted, and ^^^^^ j^ ' 

will decrease when business becomes slack. We have seen that under elasticity of 

the Federal Reserve System, the reserves of the several districts '^^^^^ ^^ 

1 From Edwin Walter Kemmerer, The A B C of the Federal Reserve System. 
Princeton University Press, Princeton, N. J., 1920; pp. 50-53, 55-56, 61, 64-65. 



428 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Bank-note 
currency: 



how it may 
be expanded 



and 
contracted. 



can be centralized and piped to banks where they are needed; it 
remains to be pointed out that there must be provision for enlarg- 
ing the amount of money or credit when the mechanism of exchange 
is called upon to handle a great volume of business, and that when 
business has subsided there must be some way of reducing the amount 
of money and credit in circulation. Elasticity under the Federal 
Reserve System is explained by Dr. Kemmerer as follows: 

[First, the elasticity of the bank-note currency is secured by] 
the so-called Federal Reserve notes. These notes, which are obli- 
gations of the United States Government, and [are issued by the] 
Federal Reserve Banks, have back of them specifically pledged with 
the Federal Reserve agent to the amount of loo per cent certain forms 
of high-grade collateral. . . . Except under special circumstances, 
... a gold reserve of not less than 40 per cent must be kept by 
each Federal Reserve Bank against its outstanding Federal Re- 
serve notes. ... 

As regards the matter of elasticity, these notes have in a high de- 
gree the quality of expansibility, namely, of having their circula- 
tion easily increased in times of need. If member banks in a given 
section of the country need an increased supply of currency to meet 
local demands, they may rediscount eligible paper with their Federal 
Reserve Bank and take the proceeds of the rediscounts in Federal 
Reserve notes, which pass readily as hand-to-hand money and are 
satisfactory till money for the banks. The Federal Reserve Bank, 
if its supply of notes is inadequate, secures, on application to the 
federal reserve agent, additional notes by depositing with the agent 
the rediscounted paper or other eligible paper in its portfolio. This 
process may continue as long as the Federal Reserve Bank has paper 
available for deposit with the Federal Reserve agent and its gold 
reserve does not fall below the normal legal minimum of 40 per 
cent. In case of great emergency, however, the Federal Reserve Board 
may permit a reduction of the note reserve below 40 per cent, provided 
it imposes a graduated tax upon the amount of the deficiency. . . . 

For the purpose of contracting the circulation of Federal Reserve 
notes when the business demands for currency decline, the machinery 
is as follows. When the demand for notes in the pockets of the 
people and the tiUs of the merchants falls off, as it does, say, after 



CREDIT AND BANKING 429 

the harvesting season in the autumn, the surplus notes are deposited 
by the public in the banks. Inasmuch as national banks cannot 
count these notes in their vaults as legal reserve money, they will 
tend to send to their Federal Reserve Banks for deposit any notes 
they receive in excess of the amount needed for till money. Notes 
which were issued by the Federal Reserve Bank of the district may 
thus be withdrawn from circulation. . . . Another device calculated 
to encourage the retirement from circulation of bank notes when- 
ever they become redundant is the provision of the law authorizing 
the Federal Reserve Board to charge such a rate of interest as it may 
deem desirable on Federal Reserve notes uncovered by gold or gold 
certificates issued to Federal Reserve Banks. . . . 

The most important device of the Federal Reserve System for secur- Deposit 
ing elasticity of deposit currency, as well as of bank-note currency, '^'"^"'^^ 
is found in the machinery enabKng member banks to borrow funds 
of their Federal Reserve Bank. Funds so borrowed, when left on de- 
posit with the Federal Reserve Bank, serve as legal reserve money for how it may 
the member banks. The making of such loans to member banks is expanded 
one of the chief functions of Federal Reserve Banks. [Member 
banks may secure these loans either by rediscounting eligible paper 
at the Federal Reserve Bank of their district, or by borrowing from 
the Federal Reserve Bank on the security of certain types of 
collateral.] . . . 

The contraction of deposit currency, as soon as the need for it and 
falls off, is brought about by the pressure of high discount rates, contracted. 
to which the pressure of the graduated tax is added. This double 
pressure encourages borrowers to pay off their loans. This fact, 
and the increasing restrictions which Federal Reserve Banks place 
upon rediscounts as money market conditions become easier, tend 
to contract the circulation of deposit currency and restore the re- 
serves to a normal condition. . . . 

Some critics of the Federal Reserve System believe that the machin- a criticism, 
ery it provides for contracting both deposit and bank-note currency, 
in times of currency redundancy, needs strengthening. [However 
this may be], there is no question but that the Federal Reserve 
System has added greatly to the elasticity of both our deposit cur- 
rency and our bank-note currency. 



430 READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 

Questions on the foregoing Readings 

1. Explain the importance of the commercial bank. 

2. Trace the steps by which a banker discovers that he can safely 

loan out money left with him for safe-keeping. 

3. What is the chief function of the commercial bank? 

4. What is meant by saying that the banker must exercise a great 

deal of judgment in loaning funds? 

5. Explain what is meant by the statement that before 1913 our 

banking system was a system in name only. 

6. To what extent did the smaller banks formerly deposit a large 

share of their reserves with larger banks? 

7. Explain how this creates a feeling of inter-dependence among the 

banks. 

8. Why was this inter-dependence dangerous? 

9. Name a panic which clearly illustrated the defects of the national 

banking system as it existed prior to 1913. 

10. Trace the beginnings of financial distress in New York during the 

earlier part of this panic. 

11. What happened when alarm spread through the country? 

12. Why was the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 passed? 

13. What was the purpose of this act? 

14. What, in brief, are the duties and powers of the Federal Reserve 

Banks? 

15. Explain the organization of the Federal Reserve Board. 

16. What is the function of the Federal Advisory Council? 

17. Why must member banks keep all of their legal reserve in the 

Federal Reserve Bank of their district? 

18. May they keep any reserves in other banks? Explain. 

19. Explain what is meant by the district centralization of reserves. 

20. Show how the Act of 1913 provides for the mobility of bank re- 

serves between (a) different districts, and (b) between the 
different banks of a single district. 

21. Why must the supply of money and credit be elastic? 

22. Show how the bank-note currency may be (a) expanded and 

(b) contracted under the Act of 1913. 

23. How may deposit credit or deposit currency be expanded and 

contracted under the Act? 

24. What criticism has been brought against the Federal Reserve 

System with respect to the contraction of deposit and bank- 
note currency? 



CHAPTER XXXII 

TAXATION 

187. Defects of American taxation ^ 

There can be no doubt but that discontent with our taxation Increasing 
system is steadily increasing. Not only is the increasing cost of ^'scontent 
government demanding greater and greater revenues, but the failure taxation 
to change our taxation poHcies to keep pace with the growing com- ^y^tem. 
plexity of our industrial hfe renders more and more inadequate 
our traditional methods of taxation. In brief, more is demanded 
of our taxation system than ever before, but that system is unable 
to respond effectively. American taxation systems are highly de- 
fective, as Professor SeHgman points out in the following selection: 

What, then, are the chief difficulties in our tax system which are The eight 
coming more and more to be recognized everywhere throughout the °'^'*^^^.^ °' 

America,!! 
length and breadth of the land? I should sum them up under eight taxation: 

heads. 

First and foremost is the breakdown of the general property tax, d) the 
which is almost everywhere still the chief reliance of state and local •^^^^^^o^" 
government. The general property tax works well only amidst most general 
primitive conditions, for which alone it was calculated. . . . The P™P^''*y *^^'^' 
administration of the general property tax is everywhere attended 
with increasing difficulty, and in our large industrial centers it has 
become, to use the words of a recent tax report, "a howling farce." 

Second, a growing lack of equality in tax burdens, not only as (2) in- 
between classes in the community, but as between individuals of the equahty in 

tax burdens, 

same class. . . . 

Third, the application to general purposes of what was intended 

1 From State and Local Taxation, First National Conference, November 12-15, 
igo7. Addresses and Proceedings. Edwin R. A. Seligman, "The Separation of 
State and Local Revenues." The Macmillan Company, New York, 1908; pp. 486- 
489. 

431 



432 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



(3) inade- 
quacj' of 
local 
assessment, 



(4) lack of 
proper 
corporation 
taxes, 

(5) the 
franchise 
evil. 



(6) xindue 
burden on 
the farmer, 



(7) inter- 
ference with 
business, 



and (8) in- 
adequate 
taxes on 
great wealth. 



to be only a local revenue. All direct taxation was originally local 
in character, and the assessment of property for local taxation was 
at the outset a comparatively simple matter. When the need for 
state revenues made itself felt, it was obviously expedient to tack 
on to this local taxation a quota for general purposes. But with 
the great development of state functions, and with the breakdown 
of the local barriers of commerce and industry, what was originally 
equal soon turned into inequality, and the attempt to fetter interlocal 
or even interstate business conditions by the bonds of purely local 
assessment has proved to be a fruitful source of difficulty. 

Fourth, the failure to make modern corporations bear their fair 
share of taxation. . . . 

Fifth, the failure to secure adequate compensation from individ- 
uals and corporations alike for the franchises and privileges that 
are granted by the community. An earnest effort is being made at 
present throughout the length and breadth of the land to repair 
this defect. . . . 

Sixth, the undue burden cast upon the farmer. Practically, this 
is the problem of taxation in many of our rural districts and in all 
agricultural communities where the failure of an adequate revenue 
system and of the readjustment of social resources makes it impos- 
sible to secure good schools or fairly decent roads without over- 
burdening what is, after all, the chief source of American prosperity. 

Seventh, the interference with business, due to the partial and 
spasmodic enforcement of antiquated laws. Witness the attempt 
in some states suddenly to levy the mortgage tax, as recently in 
New York, where the entire building industry was thrown into con- 
fusion; or the attempt in other states to enforce . . . property 
[taxes] on businesses which led to a change in the location of the 
business rather than to any increase of revenue. . . . 

Eighth, the failure to make great wealth contribute its due share. 
In former times, where property was fairly equally distributed and 
conditions simple, inequaUties in tax burdens were slight and un- 
perceived. Before the huge aggregations of modern wealth, the 
crude tax machinery of earher days stands impotent. And yet we 
hug ourselves with the delusion that all that is necessary is to patch 
up the old machinery, whereas what is really needed is to throw the 



TAXATION 433 

old machinery on the scrap heap, and lo utiUze entirely new and 
modern instruments and processes. 



188. Breakdown of the general property tax ^ 

As Professor Seligman has pointed out in the above selection, Failure of 

the breakdown of the general property tax is first and foremost general 

. property tax. 

among the defects of American taxation. Wherever extended in- 
vestigations of this tax have been made, the conclusion has always 
been that it is thoroughly inadequate as a source of revenue, and 
that it is unquaUfiedly evil in its effects upon both assessors and 
taxpayers. Some of the defects of the general property tax are 
brought out in the following extract from a committee report to 
the Fourth International Conference on State and Local Taxation, 
held in Milwaukee, in igio: 

There are two reasons why the general property tax has failed Two reasons 

in operation. First, because under modern conditions it cannot f^, , 

failure of 

be enforced effectively. Secondly, because of a more or less conscious the general 

recognition of the fact that strict enforcement would result in a still Property tax: 

greater injustice than now prevails. 

[First, as to impracticability of enforcement]: (i) the im- 

Under modern conditions, much property that is valuable to its pra-cticabihty 

. . °' enforce- 

individual owner ... is in a form that permits of easy evasion, ment, 

The paper evidences of ownership of property which the general 

property tax system seeks to reach in the hands of the owner, can 

readily be concealed, or there can be a colorable transfer of title. 

Credits and debts can be juggled. Visible personal property can 

be temporarily transferred into another district or state. Where 

the taxpayer makes his own return, he can undervalue or omit some 

of his property. If the assessor tries to inventory the property he 

may overlook much of it and fail to estimate the value of that which 

he does find. . . . 

[Second, as to the injustice of strict enforcement]: and (2) the 

Public opinion almost invariably recognizes the unfairness of '"J^'^t''^*^ ° 

taxing all property by the same rule and at the same rate, whenever enforcement. 

' From State and Local Taxation, Fourth International Conference, August 30 
to September 2, 1910. Addresses and Proceedings. International Tax Association, 
Columbus, Ohio, 191 1; pp. 307-310. 



434 READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 

a strict enforcement of the law is attempted. The abstract demand 
for the taxation of all property alike then gives place to concrete 
indignation over the actual results. It is always some unknown 
"they" who ought to be made to pay on everything "they" own. 

But the property which the assessor does find, often is, in the 
opinion of its owners, either greatly overvalued, or has been "singled 
out," or is otherwise quite improperly on the rolls. This attitude 
of the average property owner is an unconscious resentment at the 
unfairness of the general property tax theory. The attempt to tax 
all property at a uniform standard of valuation and at the same rate, 
regardless of its special characteristics, earning power, or the bene- 
fits derived from the expenditures of government, violates the pri- 
mary rules of just taxation and offends the natural sense of jus- 
tice. . . . 
Conclusions. To sum up, your Committee finds: 

That the general property tax system has broken down; 

That it has not been more successful under strict administration 
than where the administration is lax; 

That in the states where its administration has been the most 
stringent, the tendency of public opinion and legislation is not toward 
stiU more stringent administration, but toward a modification of 
the system; 

That the same tendency is evident in the states where the admin- 
istration has been more lax; 

That the states which have modified or abandoned the general 
property tax show no intention of returning to it; 

That in the states where the general property tax is required by 
constitutional provisions, there is a growing demand for the repeal 
of such provisions. 

We conclude, therefore, that the failure of the general property 
tax is due to the inherent defects of the theory; 

That even measurably fair and effective administration is unat- 
tainable; and that all attempts to strengthen such administration 
serve simply to accentuate and to prolong the inequalities and unjust 
operation of the system. 



TAXATION 435 

189. The taxation of corporations ^ 

There is a widespread feeling among tax experts that under our Why corpo- 
present laws, business corporations are not made to bear their full f'^^'""^ ^'"^, 

inadequately 
share of the tax burden. The chief reason for this feehng is that taxed. 

our tax laws are largely the legacy of primitive conditions, and so 
do not adequately weigh upon such recent developments as corporate 
business. The corporation has recently become an important source 
of wealth, but our tax laws have not yet taken general notice of this 
new source of revenue. Some of the striking elements in this situa- 
tion are discussed in the following extract from the proceedings of 
a taxation conference held in Indiana in 1910: 

While in primitive society property may be the best available The test of 
test of abiUty in taxation, the true test is always ability and not aWrt^^^'^^ 
property. . . . The ability and the duty of the owner of property 
to support the government to the same extent and for the same reason 
that he supports himself and his family is measured most fairly and 
accurately by income or productive ability. 

As society develops, economic and industrial conditions become Significance 
more complex, property and industry assume more varied forms, °, '" uitnal 
and the capacity of the individual or corporation can no longer be 
fairly determined merely by property ownership. Whether a person 
is supporting his family on a salary income or from property invest- 
ments he is equally able and responsible for the support of the 
government. . . . Property, therefore, must be classified as to its 
form and productive capacity if we are to have a fair, uniform and 
comprehensive system of taxation, based on ability to pay and uni- 
versal in its apphcation. . . . 

The bulk of our intangible property, which has generally escaped Relation of 
paying its fair share of taxes and which is increasing . . . out of all jg*^^?*^^ ^ 
proportion to other property ... is invested or deposited with to intangible 
corporations. The general tendency and natural effect of corporate P^P^*" y- 
investment is to concentrate property for the purpose of increas- 
ing its earning capacity; thereby collecting into a relatively few or- 
ganizations or industrial systems, practically all of the intangible, 
together with a large portion of the tangible, property. 

1 From Indiana University, Extension Division, Proceedings of a Conference on 
Taxation in Indiana, February s and 6, 1914. Bloomington, Indiana, 1914; pp. 52-54. 



436 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



The- proper 
way of 
taxing 
corporations 
is to ignore 
the stock- 
holders and 
the actual 
property of 
the corpo- 
ration, 



and to levy 
upon the 
income or 
earning 
capacity of 
the corpo- 
ration. 



Conclusion. 



The small number of corporations as compared to the large number 
of owners of their securities affords a most compelling argument 
of convenience and economy for the taxation of the corporation 
rather than its securities in the hands of their numerous and widely- 
scattered owners, many of whom are never found, so that the por- 
tion who are taxed are required to pay in addition to their own 
fair share of taxes an even greater amount which belongs to the own- 
ers of those securities which are not returned, with a resultant rate 
of taxation imposed on that portion actually paying, frequently 
approaching the earning capacity of the security itself. 

By taxing all such intangible property at its source or the place 
of investment, the expense and difficulty of assessing and collecting 
the tax would be reduced to a minimum and the tax couli be practi- 
cally uniformly levied and universally collected. ... In other words, 
let us take the income or earning capacity of the corporation as the 
measure of its duty and ability to pay taxes and not attempt the 
impossible and inequitable assessment of its stock or property as 
such, especially when so much of the property is intangible in form 
and so incapable of assessment except on the basis of income or 
earning capacity. . . . 

A tax on corporations measured by corporate income should in- 
clude every subject of taxation that is legitimately taxable from the 
economic point of view, for income covers all property and reflects 
all value necessarily and properly belonging to the corporation. 
As income or earning capacity determines the value of the property 
belonging to corporations and furnishes the best measure of tax- 
paying ability, why not tax it as such, or use it directly as the measure 
of value in assessing such property? It is fixed and definite, not sus- 
ceptible of evasion, easily and conveniently ascertained at slight 
expense to the state as well as to the corporation itself, and furnishes 
a practical basis of assessment. ... 



190. Social significance of taxation ^ 

There is no more significant development in recent tax discussions 
than the proposal to use income and inheritance taxes as a method 

1 From Theodore Roosevelt, Annual Message to Congress, December 3, 1907. 



TAXATION 437 

of leveling llic inequalities of wealth. Not all students of the sub- drowinK 
ject admit the desirabihty of taxes designed to level the inequalities tendency 

to use taxes 
of wealth, but certainly there is no doubt but that there is an increas- to level the 

* ing tendency to use taxes for this purpose. In a message to Congress, inequalities 

December 3, 1907, President Roosevelt noted and approved this 

tendency in the following words: 

When our tax laws are revised the question of an income tax and President 

an inheritance tax should receive the careful attention of our legis- Roosevelt 

advocates a 

lators. In my judgment both of these taxes should be part of our Federal 
system of Federal taxation. I speak diffidently about the income 'ii^ome tax, 
tax because one scheme for an income tax was declared unconsti- 
tutional by the Supreme Court; while in addition it is a difficult 
tax to administer in its practical working, and great care would have 
to be exercised by the very men whom it was most desirable to have 
taxed, for if so evaded it would, of course, be worse than no tax at all; 
as the least desirable of all taxes is the tax which bears heavily upon 
the honest as compared with the dishonest man. Nevertheless, a 
graduated income tax of the proper type would be a desirable feature 
of Federal taxation, and it is hoped that one may be devised which 
the Supreme Court wUl declare constitutional.^ 
The inheritance tax, however, is both a far better method of tax- as well as a 

ation, and far more important for the purpose of having the fortunes federal tax 

on inhent- 

of the country bear in proportion to their increase in size a cor- ances. 
responding increase and burden of taxation. The Government has 
the absolute right to decide as to the terms upon which a man shall 
receive a bequest or devise from another, and this point in the devolu- 
tion of property is especially appropriate for the imposition of a tax. 
Laws imposing such taxes have repeatedly been placed upon the 
national statute books and as repeatedly declared constitutional 
by the courts. . . . 

These principles are recognized already in the leading civiUzed The inherit- 
nations of the world. In Great Britain all the estates worth $5,000 l^?^ ^^^ ^^ 

being used 

or less are practically exempt from death duties, while the increase in European 
is such that when an estate exceeds five millions of dollars in value countries, 

* Since the above message was written, an amendment to the Federal Consti- 
tution has been passed, permitting the levy of a Federal income tax directly upon 
the people. — Editor. 



438 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



and ought 
to be ap- 
plied by our 
Federal 
Government. 



Social 
significance 
of heavy 
taxes on 
large 
fortunes. 



and passes to a distant kinsman or stranger in blood the Government 
receives all told an amount equivalent to nearly a fifth of the whole 
estate. 
[Similar taxes are applied in France and Germany.] 
There is no reason why in the United States the National Govern- 
ment should not impose inheritance taxes in addition to those imposed 
by the states, and when we last had an inheritance tax about one- 
half of the states levied such taxes concurrently with the National 
Government, making a combined maximum rate, in some cases as 
high as 25 per cent. . . . 

A heavy progressive tax upon a very large fortune is in no way 
such a tax upon thrift or industry as a like tax would be on a small 
fortune. No advantage comes either to the country as a whole or 
to the individuals inheriting the money by permitting the trans- 
mission in their entirety of the enormous fortunes which would be 
affected by such a tax; and as an incident to its function of revenue 
raising, such a tax would help to preserve a measurable equahty 
of opportunity. . . . Our aim is to recognize what Lincoln pointed 
out : The fact that there are some respects in which men are obviously 
not equal, but also to insist that there should be an equality of self- 
respect and of mutual respect, and equahty of right before the law, 
and at least an approximate equality in the conditions under which 
each man obtains the chance to show the stuff that is in him when 
compared to his fellows. . . . 



The real- 
ization of 
the defects 
of American 
taxation 
has been 
followed by 
piecemeal 
reform. 



191. Need of thorough study of the tax problem^ 

A study of American taxation reveals two widespread tendencies: 
In the first place, there is an increasing tendency for tax experts 
and tax officials everjrwhere to admit that American taxation is highly 
defective. In the second place, there is a more or less definite tend- 
ency to attack the tax problem by advocating specific reforms. 
Many states have, in this way, solved important phases of the tax 
problem, and yet the conviction is growing that the tax problem is 
so complicated and so fundamental that it cannot properly be solved 

1 From Indiana University, ExtensiDn Division, Proceedings of a Conference on 
Taxation in Indiana, February 5 and 6, 1914. Blooiiuagton, Indiana, 1914; 
pp. 163-165. 



TAXATION 439 

without a wholesale reorganization of the tax system. The neces- 
sity of approaching this reorganization through a state-wide survey of 
the whole field of taxation is set forth in the following address by 
Mr. John A. Lapp before the 1914 conference on taxation in Indiana: 

One thing is evident, that is, that we cannot settle this problem But the 
by piecemeal. It must be taken in its complete aspects. It must be P^'^'^'f"^ °* 
solved as a unit in order that the system shall be comprehensive and cannot be 
at the same time honest and fair. If we want to get that sort of a ^^"led by 

° _ piecemeal. 

system, we cannot depend upon individual initiative, either of private 
citizens or of public officials. Nor can we depend upon the unaided 
efforts of the General Assembly. Each man, whether he be a private 
citizen or an office holder, has many more problems to consider and 
can give only a minimum of time to the thought and effort which are 
necessary to work out the matter to its final analysis. 

We must depend, therefore, upon some organization, or somebody Need of a 
working exclusively and efficiently to the end of collecting, analyzing, } '^^'^^.^ 
and setting forth the main facts which must underlie the solution of of the 
this problem. The work requires long study. It requires expert ''"^J'^'^t. 
assistance. It requires the opinions of men in every walk of life, 
and it requires that all the facts shall be gathered together and set 
forth in such manner that out of the facts may come a logical and 
complete system of taxation. . . . We shall need a special investi- 
gation representing all classes of people who are concerned with this 
problem, who shall be appointed for reasons of knowledge, experience 
and interest in working out from the accumulated experience of 
this and other states an adequate and fair system of taxation for 
the State of Indiana. 

Such an investigation must be thorough, or else it might better Importance 
not be had. A partial solution of the problem is not what we are 
after. Nothing short of a full survey and a practical and complete 
working plan of taxation wiU satisfy the state permanently. . . . 
We do not want to substitute some different system of taxation just 
merely because it is different. We want, rather, to comprehend and 
solve the whole problem, but, most of all, we want to make the people 
of the state comprehend it. The best system cannot be adopted, nor 
will it work, unless the people have been educated to its purposes, 
and are willing to educate themselves to its administration. 



of this. 



440 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Groups 
which ought 
to be repre- 
sented on a 
tax com- 
mission. 



The results 
of the in- 
vestigation 
must not be 
concealed, 



but must 
reach the 
people. 



Thi.s investigation must be fairly representative of men of all the 
classes that are interested. Such a commission, I should think, 
should be composed of a representative of the tax -paying class. . . . 
We ought to have a representative from the business interests of the 
state, and a representative of agriculture, and above all we ought to 
have a representative from the State Tax Board itself, which is charged 
with the duty of administering the law, and is familiar with all the 
details and defects in the actual administration of the law of the 
state. We also need men who will look at the thing from a large stand- 
point, men who will look at it from the standpoint of the professor 
of political economy, if you will. . . . 

Such a body as that — and I just merely suggest an outline — 
could investigate the subject for Indiana. ... I have seen a great 
many investigations in this state and other states which surveyed 
the facts in certain fields. After the facts were gotten they were 
quietly concealed in ponderous volumes or in the offices of the Capitol, 
or in some other place. The people did not get hold of the facts. 
They did not have a chance to study them. . . . 

[This is the wrong way to do things.] We must take everybody 
into our confidence. We must try to educate everybody on this 
subject; and when we have done that ... I dare say we will come 
to the conclusion . . . that we ought to have a comprehensive change 
in the tax system in Indiana; that no matter how good the system 
of taxation may have been a few years ago, it is not adequate at 
the present time, and it is not adequate for the rapidly changing 
future. . . . 



Importance 
of a firm 
grasp of the 
fundamental 
principles of 
taxation. 



192. Some principles of taxation ^ 

In the study of taxation, nothing is more important than a firm 
grasp of the basic principles which underhe a sound taxation system. 
The development of new objectives in taxation, and the increase in 
the nvmiber of factors involved in the problem, have not been with- 
out their effect upon taxation ideals. Nevertheless, there are certain 
basic principles which are still vital, and which under any system 
of taxation ought seriously to be taken into account. No one has 

1 From Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Catties of the Wealth of 
Nations. London, 1776. Book v, Chapter n, Part n. 



TAXATION 441 

more aptly expressed these principles than Adam Smith, writing 
a century and a half ago, as follows: 

Before I enter upon the examination of particular taxes, it is The four 
necessary to premise the four following maxims with regard to taxes P"nciples of 
in general. 

1. The subjects of every state ought to contribute toward the sup- (i) the pay- 
port of the government, as nearly as possible, in proportion to their ^^^^ °' 
respective abiUties; that is, in proportion to the revenue which ing to 
they respectively enjoy under the protection of the state. The ^^ihty. 
expense of government to the individuals of a great nation is Hke 

the expense of management of the joint tenants of a great estate, 
who are all obUged to contribute in proportion to their respective 
interests in the estate. . . . 

2. The tax which each individual is bound to pay ought to be (2) a tax 

certain, and not arbitrary. The time of payment, the manner of °^sM to be 
' -^ r J ' ^ certain and 

payment, the quantity to be paid, ought all to be clear and plain not 

to the contributor and to every other person. ... '^^ itrary. 

3. Every tax ought to be levied at the time, or in the manner, (3) a tax 

in which it is most Ukely to be convenient for the contributor to pay °"^ V ^ 
■' levied so as 

it. A tax upon the rent of land or of houses, payable at the same to suit the 
term at which such rents are usually paid, is levied at the time when convenience 
it is most likely to be convenient for the contributor to pay; or, contributor, 
when he is most likely to have wherewithal to pay. Taxes upon 
such consumable goods as are articles of luxury, are all finally 
paid by the consumer, and generally in a manner that is very con- 
venient for him. He pays them by little and little, as he has occasion 
to buy the goods. As he is at liberty too, either to buy, or not to buy, 
as he pleases, it must be his own fault if he ever suffers any consider- 
able inconveniency from such taxes. 

4. Every tax ought to be so contrived as both to take out and to (4) a tax 
keep out of the pockets of the people as httle as possible, over and p°" th ^ ^ 
above what it brings into the public treasury. ... A tax may either people as 
take out or keep out of the pockets of the people a great deal more ^, ^^ 

^ '^ i:- r- o possible over 

than it brings into the pubhc treasury. . . . First, the levying of and above 

it may require a great number of officers, whose salaries may eat up ^'.^^ ''• 

the greater part of the produce of the tax, and whose perquisites the public 

may impose another additional burden upon the people. Secondly, treasury. 



442 READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 

it may obstruct the industry of the people, and discourage them 
from applying to certain branches of business which might give main- 
tenance and employment to great multitudes. While it obUges the 
people to pay, it may thus diminish, or perhaps destroy, some of 
the funds which might enable them more easily to do so. . . . 



Questions on the foregoing Readings 

1. How do you account for the increasing discontent with our tax- 

ation system? 

2. What is meant by the " breakdown of the general property tax "? 

3. To what extent is local assessment inadequate? 

4. How may taxes unduly interfere with business? 

5. Name the foremost defects of American taxation. 

6. Give two reasons for the failure of the general property tax. 

7. Why is it impracticable to enforce the general property tax? 

8. Why is strict enforcement of the general property tax unjust? 

9. Summarize the case against the general property tax. 

10. Why are corporations inadequately taxed in this country? 

11. What is the true test of tax-paying abihty? 

12. What is the relation of corporate development to intangible 

property? 

13. How should we deal with the problem of taxing corporations? 

14. What is the significance of income and inheritance taxes? 

15. What was President Roosevelt's judgment as to the status of 

income and inheritance taxes? 

16. Which did he consider more important, the income or the in- 

heritance tax? 

17. Name some European countries in which the inheritance tax is 

used. 

18. What is the social significance of heavy taxes on large fortunes? 

19. How has the taxation problem been attacked in many states? 

20. Why are the results unsatisfactory? 

21. What is the necessity of a thorough survey of the tax problem? 

22. Name some groups or classes which ought to be represented in 

this survey. 

23. What should be done with the results of such an investigation 

or survey? 

24. What is the importance of a firm grasp of the principles of taxation? 

25. What four maxims or principles of taxation are mentioned by 

Adam Smith? 



b. Making Government Effective 

CHAPTER XXXIII 

WHO SHALL SHARE IN GOVERNMENT? 

193. The suffrage in colonial times ^ 

A striking fact in the history of suffrage in the United States In colonial 
is the rapid extension of the vote since colonial days. Data are in- g^^^ ^^s 
complete, but there is no doubt but that a relatively small propor- narrowly 
tion of adults exercised the vote previous to the American Revolu- 
tion. In the earlier part of our colonial history, suffrage qualifications 
were vague and indefinite. Gradually, by means of legislative action, 
additional and more specific qualifications were imposed. In the Colonial 
following extracts, Dr. Cortlandt F. Bishop discusses the suffrage fj^^^the 
in colonial times: suffrage: 

1. Ethnic. — Race quaUfications were not prescribed by statute, (i) ethnic, 
except in the southern colonies. I know of no law that would prevent 

an Indian or a Negro, if otherwise qualified, from voting in the north- 
ern colonies. [At a late date, however, Negroes and even Indians 
were barred from the suffrage in some of the southern states.] 

2. Political. — Qualifications of this sort were rarely prescribed (2) political, 
by statute. In Pennsylvania, voters were required to be natural 

born subjects of England; in Delaware, of Great Britain. . . . Massa- 
chusetts after 1664 required freemen to be Englishmen, while in 
North Carolina there was the peculiar provision that "no person in- 
habitant of this province, bom out of the allegiance of his majesty 
and not made free," could vote. . . . 

3. Moral. — Moral qualifications were insisted on only in New (3) moral, 
England, though Virginia denied the franchise to any "convict or 

person convicted in Great Britain or Ireland during the term for which 
he is transported. "... In the New England colonies moral deUn- 
quencies had a double effect. Evidence of a positive character was 

1 From Cortlandt F. Bishop, History of Elections in the American Colonies. 
New York, 1893; pp. 51-54, 56, 59-61, 64-66, 69-70. 

443 



444 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOGRACY 



at one time necessary before a person could be admitted to the 
freedom of the colony, while the absence of correctness in moral 
behavior woidd, in certain cases, lead to the suspension of a freeman 
from his privileges or even to his total disfranchisement. [What 
constituted correct moral behavior was variously interpreted in the 
different colonies.] . . . 
(4) religious, 4. Religious. — In Massachusetts and also in the New Haven 
colony freemen were required to be church members. [Rhode 
Island required a profession of Christianity, but barred Roman 
CathoUcs from the vote.] ... In South Carolina a statute enacted 
in 1 7 16 required voters to profess the Christian religion. 

[There were also religious quaUfications of a negative sort.] For 
instance, Quakers were strictly debarred from becoming freemen 
in Massachusetts, and in Plymouth. ... It seems to have been the 
rule in most of the American colonies that Roman Cathohcs could 
not vote. [In New York and in South CaroHna there is] evidence- 
tending to prove that Jews could not legally vote. 

5. Age. — It may be stated as a general proposition that electors 
were required to be twenty-one years of age. . . . 

6. Sexual. — There seems to have been no women's rights party 
in the colonies; it was thus not found necessary to debar expressly 
women from the privilege of voting, except in Virginia. . . 

7. Residential. — ■ In the early history of each colony there was, 
as has already been explained, very Uttle definiteness in regard to 
the qualification of voters. [Still there is evidence to show] that 
residence within the government, province or territory, was generally 
required. . . . 

8. Property. — The property qualification in the American colonies 
is a subject of great importance. The qualifications mentioned in 
the preceding sections were for the most part confined to particular 
portions of the continent. . . . [On the other hand,] in every prov- 
ince, whether royal or proprietary, there was introduced, beginning in 
the latter part of the seventeenth century, some sort of property 
qualification, and the tendency during the middle of the eighteenth 
century was toward a certain amount of uniformity in this respect 
throughout the colonies. . . . [The amount of property required, 
however, varied widely among the different colonies.] . . . 



(5) age, 



(6) sexual, 



(7) resi- 
dential, 



(8) and 
property, 



WHO SH.\LL SHARE IN GOVERNMENT? 445 



194. The demand for universal suffrage ' 

Colonial standards of suffrage were largely carried over into our Application 

earlier national history, and in 1780 probably less than five per cent °} ^^? 

doctrine of 
of the American people were permitted to vote. After the opening of natural rights 

the nineteenth century, however, there was a growing agitation for *° ^^f 

question 
the extension of the suffrage. One of the important arguments ad- of the 

vanced in favor of a wider suffrage was the doctrine of natural rights, ^^^''^s^' 
according to which all men are bom free and equal, and are entitled 
to certain fundamental rights of which they may not be deprived. 
How this doctrine was applied to the question of suffrage is illus- 
trated in the following extract from an address before the Rhode 
Island Constitutional Convention of 1834, at a period when the 
restricted suffrage in that state was a source of iU-feehng and serious 
dissension: 

We contend then, That a participation in the choice of those who Suffrage a 
make and administer laws is a natural right; which cannot be abridged, ^^'•^'"^ nght. 
nor suspended any farther than the greatest good of the greatest number 
imperatively requires. 

And this greatest good is not that of any portion of the people, jhis funda- 
however large, but of the whole population of a state. It may seem cental truth 
strange that a fundamental truth like this, which contains the very 
hfe-blood and vitaUty of a repubUcan government, should be called 
in question at the present day, and in our own country. But it is 
nevertheless true that there are those, who, while they yield a formal 
and guarded deference to this great doctrine, yet in their reasoning 
and practice destroy all the force of their hollow and doubtful ad- 
mission; and maintain doctrines, which, if followed out to their 
legitimate consequences, would justify almost any exercise of irre- 
sponsible and unjust power. . . . 

Government was first formed by the act, and with the consent of Government 
those who were to be governed, given either expressly, or by ac- ^f^^^ "P°" 

° ' * *^ •" ■' the consent 

quiescence. And what did government confer upon those who estab- of the 

Hshed it? Here Ues the radical error of those who contend that all governed, 

* From an Address to the People of Rhode Island, assembled in Constitutional 
Convention in 1834. "Chiefly written by Thomas W. Dorr, ' Providence, 1834; 
pp. 26, 28-29. 



446 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



but previous 
to the estab- 
lishment of 
government 
there existed 
a natural 
right to 

life, 



personal 
liberty, 

property, 



the pursuit 
of happiness, 



and to de- 
cide upon 
one's par- 
ticipation in 
government. 



Suffrage 
a natural 
right. 



political rights are the creatures of the political compact. Those 
reasoners will tell you about rights created by society. We wish 
to ask previously what those rights were, which existed before poUtical 
society itself. Those rights were the rights to hfe, to liberty, to 
property — in general, to the pursuit of happiness. 

Life was the gift of th^ common Maker of all; and could not be 
taken without committing the greatest act of injustice which one 
man can commit against another. 

Personal Uberty too, the right to walk abroad upon the face of 
the earth, was another natural right. 

The bounties of nature were all at the beginning spread out before 
the human race for their sustenance and enjoyment; and he who 
should appropriate the fruits of the earth to his own use, — and more 
especially those with which he had mixed his own labor, by the culti- 
vation of the soil, had a just right to repel the invasion of him who 
should seek to dispossess him of what he had acquired. This was 
the natural right to property. 

Each individual also had the right of pursuing his own happiness, 
in the way which he might prefer, provided he injured no man in 
the enjoyment of the same right. 

Another great personal right, already alluded to, has been reserved 
for the last: it is the right which every man, among the families by 
which nations were composed, had, of giving or withholding his voice 
in every question relating to the union of those families in a form of 
government; and of removing from its jurisdiction if that union were 
formed against his consent. 

The existence of such a natural right is too evident to be disputed. 
And so far was it from being surrendered when government was once 
formed, that its continuance was absolutely necessary to maintain 
the existence of that government, by the reelection of new magis- 
trates, when the terms of those first elected had expired. This right 
is the very right of suffrage which is the burden of our present inquiry; 
and which we call a natural right. . . . 



WHO SHALL SHARE IN GOVERNMENT? 447 



195. Woman suffrage summed up ^ 

The doctrine of natural rights, together with a large number of Widening 
other factors, operated to widen the suffrage in the nineteenth century. ^^ the 
Nominally, universal manhood suffrage seems to have been attained 
when in 1870 the Fifteenth Amendment to the Federal Constitution 
declared that the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall The 
not be denied or abridged on account of race, color or previous con- ^'^teenth 
dition of servitude. Meanwhile the agitation for the extension of 
the suffrage to women was growing, culminating in 1920 In the passage 
of the Nineteenth Amendment, which declared that the right of suf- Nineteenth 
frage shall not be denied on account of sex. Much has been written aniendments. 
for and against woman suffrage, and upon the question of whether 
the exercise of the ballot by women is beneficial, injurious or neutral 
in its effects. In 1919, Professor Munro summed up the discussion 
as follows: 

Various arguments are advanced both for and against the pohcy Arguments 

of giving full voting rights to women. Women are citizens; many ^°'^ ^^^ 

•' extension of 

of them own property; and all are so affected by the workings of full suffrage 

government as to be directly interested in its efficiency. In some ^^ women. 

fields of law and regulation, such as those relating to the care of the 

dependent and delinquent classes, to hours and conditions of female 

and child labor, women have a particularly vital interest. It is 

claimed that the extension of the suffrage to women would in some 

degree offset the political influence of the foreign-born element in 

large communities since the figures show that far more male than 

female immigrants come to this country. It is said that women, if 

given the ballot, would constitute a powerful element in opposition 

to the vicious influences in American poHtical and social life, the 

saloon, the gambling den, the brothel, and so on. And finally, it 

is urged that where women have been given the suffrage the result has 

been made manifest in the humanizing of the laws and in the improved 

tone of pohtical life. 

In opposition to the policy it is argued that women would not use Argimients 

the ballot wisely, being actuated by their sympathies and emotions ^^a^nst such 

1 From William Bennett Munro, The Government of the United States. The 
Macmillan Company, New York, igig; pp. 81-82. 



448 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



What 

experience 

proves. 



Conclusion. 



rather than by their judgment; that they would not develop an active 
interest in pohtics or come to the polls in reasonably large numbers; 
that the extension of the suiifrage to women would tend to weaken 
the family as a social and economic unit; that it would greatly in- 
crease the expense of elections without making government more 
truly representative; and that it would merely widen the area of 
pohtical activity at the expense of normal domestic life. 

The results of woman suffrage in the states which have had a 
sufficient experience with the institution seem to show that neither 
the merits nor defects of the pohcy have been as marked as its advo- 
cates or opponents respectively would have us believe. Women 
have used the suffrage much as men have used it, showing no more 
interest and no less, using the ballot with great intelHgence at some 
times and with little at others, even as men have done for many 
generations, influenced by their prejudices, whipped into line by 
party bosses, all as men are, and apparently to the same degree. The 
granting of voting rights to women in a dozen states of the Union 
has not demorahzed domestic life in any of them, nor, on the other 
hand, has it had noticeably effective results in the way of securing 
these states a priority over the others in the humanitarianism of their 
laws. 

The chief merit of woman suffrage in these communities has been 
that of rendering content a large group of citizens without in any 
perceptible measure impairing the economic, social, or political order. 



The Thir- 
teenth, Four- 
teenth, and 
Fifteenth 
amendments. 



196. How the Negro is kept from voting ^ 

After the Civil War the suffrage was profoundly affected by the 
Negro question. In 1865 the Thirteenth Amendment abohshed 
slavery; in 1868 the Fourteenth Amendment provided that any 
state denying the vote to any of its male citizens might suffer a 
reduction in its Congressional representation; and in 1870 the Fif- 
teenth Amendment declared that the right of citizens to vote shall 
not be denied or abridged on account of race, color, or previous 
condition of servitude. As a matter of theory, and so far as the 

1 From the American Political Science Association, Proceedings of the Second 
Annual Meeting, 1905. Albert Bushnell Hart, "The Realities of Negro Suffrage." 
Lancaster, Pa., 1906; pp. 159-162. 



WHO SHALL SHARE IN G0VERNMF:NT? 449 

suffrage is concerned, these amendments placed tlie Negro on a level 

with the white citizen. As a matter of fact, a large proportion of 

our potential Negro voters have been systematically excluded from 

the polls. Some of the ways in which Negroes may be kept from 

voting are discussed by Professor Hart in the following selection: 

Throughout the last thirty years the tendency in the northern Trend of the 

states has been to abolish all property and tax qualifications. In sufifrage 

movement 

the southern states public sentiment has worked the other way. in the 
With a view to cut down Negro suffrage a number of southern states South. 
have enacted tax qualifications rather high for the conditions. . . . 
The disqualifications for crime have also been somewhat enlarged 
and possibly a penalty involving disfranchisement is sometimes 
affixed by judges upon a Negro which would not be assigned to a 
white man. 

The important thing to remember in this process is that as a mat- The Negroes 
ter of fact the Negro vote has been suppressed. . . . There is hardly nop^'essly 

° '^^ disfranchised 

room for discussion with our southern brethren as to whether they for three 

mean or expect to take away Negro suffrage — they have done so decades, 
practically. No Negro is a candidate for any state office, or, except 
in a very few communities, for any county or local office. Some 
Negroes have always voted, but they have never been allowed to 
exercise a balance of power between two state parties or between two 
candidates for Congress. They might safely vote for a man who 
was certain to be elected, or for a man in a sure minority; but in 
the essential quality of a vote, that it may go to convert a minority 
into a majority, the Negroes have for three decades been hopelessly 
disfranchised. ... 

[Recently there is a movement] for a new and more sweeping Recently 
method of hedging in the Negro vote by state constitutional amend- ^^^^^^j^^^ 
ments. The purpose of this new legislation ... [is admittedly] to restrict 
to cut out most of the ignorant Negro voters, while leaving in most 5|^j.^gg^™ 
of the white voters, [and at the same time to avoid a technical viola- constitu- 
tion of the Fifteenth Amendment.] Six states — Mississippi, Louisi- ^^^^^^ 
ana. North Carohna, South CaroHna, Alabama, and Virginia — have The vote 

now framed such amendments. . . . Many of these amendments are "\^^ , ^ ^' 

-' _ _ nied because 

compHcated and limited one part by another, but the main principles of 
are as follows: 



450 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



(i) convic- 
tion of 
crime, 



(2) lack of 
property, 

(3) failure 
to pay 
poll tax, 

(4) failure 
to produce 
tax receipts, 



(5) failure 
to pass an 
educational 
test, 



(6) or fail- 
ure to prove 
descent from 
a person 
entitled to 
vote prior 
to January 
I, 1867. 



(i) Nearly all the constitutions in terms prohibit persons convicted 
of certain crimes from ever voting again; for instance m Mississippi, 
the offences enumerated are "bribery, burglary, theft, arson, obtain- 
ing money under false pretense, embezzlement, perjury, or big- 
amy." . . . 

(2) Two states — Alabama and Mississippi — have a moderate 
property qualification as one of several alternatives. 

(3) All the six states except Louisiana require the prepayment 
of poU taxes for one, two or three years. . . . 

(4) In two states, South Carolina and Mississippi, the voter must 
be able to prove at the polls that he has paid taxes, and since Negroes 
are notoriously careless about keeping such papers, they are much 
more likely to lose the necessary papers. 

(5) All the constitutions have an educational clause; but in two 
states taxes on property worth $300 may be a substitute for reading 
and writing; and in Mississippi it is provided that the voter must 
"be able to read any section of the constitution of this state; or he 
shall be able to understand the same when read to him, or give a 
reasonable interpretation thereof." . . . The whole machinery of 
l^such clauses]] is in the hands of the white election officers, who are 
expected to be easily convinced that a white man understands and 
with difficulty convinced in the case of a Negro. 

(6) Five of the six constitutions contain the remarkable "grand- 
father clause," which in somewhat different phraseology sets forth 
that the descendant of a person who was a voter prior to January i, 
1867, shall vote, notwithstanding his inability to satisfy the in- 
telligence or property qualifications. This is the most doubtful 
part of the whole system, for it sets up an exemption from the ordinary 
quahfications which applies only to members of one race and cannot 
possibly be acquired by members of the Negro race. . . . 



197. Civic capacity cannot be created by proclamation^ 

In the whole of American politics there is no more inflammable 
subject than that of Negro suffrage. Whatever attitude one may 



' From the American Law Review, Vol. xlv. Charles Wallace Collins, 
Fourteenth Amendment and the Negro Race Question"; pp. 853-856. 



'The 



WHO SHALL SHARE IN GOVERNMENT? 



451 



take upon the subject, some faction is certain to be incensed or al- 
ienated. No one can deny that the facts of Negro suffrage are sub- 
stantially as set forth by Professor Hart in the above selection. But 
why has the Negro been disfranchised? And who is to blame for 
this condition? Many authorities claim that the Negro was disfran- 
chised chiefly because the exercise of the vote by ignorant, incapable 
Negroes threatened the South with destruction. And for many of 
the evil effects of disfranchisement responsibility is placed upon 
those who insisted upon admitting the freed slaves suddenly and com- 
pletely to full civil rights. That civic capacity cannot be created by 
proclamation, but is the result of slow growth, is the underlying 
theme of the following selection by Charles Wallace Collins, writing 
in the American Law Review: 

In conclusion, we may ask what positive gain has the operation 
of the Fourteenth Amendment been to the Negro race? We can point 
to nothing. All attempts at Federal intervention have been fruit- 
less in permanent results. The operation of the Amendment in its 
relation to the Negro race has in it all of the irony of history. It is 
the perversion of a noble ideaUsm that the lowest and most benighted 
element of the African race should in these enlightened days be the 
ones to rise up and claim the sacred heritage of Anglo-Saxon Uberties 
which, through the fortune of circumstance, have become embodied 
in the supreme law of the land in the shape of the Fourteenth 
Amendment. . . . 

The words "citizen," "life, hberty and property," "due process 
of law," and ^'the equal protection of the laws," were born through 
a travail in which the African had no share. They breathe the sacred 
symbols of a race which paid the price for greatness. They are the 
fruit of unmeasured sacrifice and suffering, of innumerable and length- 
ened struggles through defeat and failure to final victory. They 
are the key words of that race which has, among all of the peoples of 
the earth, shown the highest genius for law and government. They 
can never be superimposed from without. The great truths which 
they embody can come into being only through the birth pangs of 
the inner hfe. 

The Fourteenth Amendment declared the Negro to be a citizen 
of the United States of America. . . . But it is a serious matter to 



Inflammable 
nature of 
the question 
of Negro 
suffrage. 



The per- 
version of 
a noble 
idealism. 



Self-govern- 
ment is the 
natural fruit 
of prolonged 
toil and 
sacrifice, 



452 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



presupposing 
centuries of 
personal 
and racial 
achievement. 



The en- 
franchise- 
ment of the 
Negro was, 
under the 
circum- 
stances, a 
crime 

against the 
colored race. 



The Four- 
teenth 
Amendment 
could not 
make Anglo- 
Saxons out 
of Africans. 



be a citizen of a country like the United States. Its ideals of citizen- 
ship presuppose centuries of independent personal and racial achieve- 
ment. ... In the words of an eminent statesman and patriot: "It 
throws upon him a great responsibihty and expects of him a constant 
and watchful independence. There is no one to look out for his 
rights but himself. He is not a ward of the government, but his own 
guardian. The law is not automatic; he must himself put it into 
operation, and he must show good cause why the courts should 
exercise the great powers vested in them. ..." 

These remarks were spoken to white men ... yet they apply 
also to the Afro-American. They speak to him with redoubled force. 
. They set before him the most exalted ideal of citizenship yet achieved 
by man and bid him reach it if he can. There is a touch of pathos 
in all of this. The Negro has been the only innocent party in this 
turmoil of the times. He at least, by every moral law, has been en- 
titled to have justice meted out to him. On the contrary he has been 
used as a tool first by one section of the country and then by the 
other. . . . And finally, to satisfy the political idealism and the 
partizan plans of those to whom he himself was a stranger, he has 
been thrown naked, penniless and deserted upon the land to pick 
his way in the midst of the highest and most complicated civiliza- 
tion known to the earth. 

The adoption of the Fourteenth Amendment could not make 
Anglo-Saxons out of Africans. It was unjust to the Negro to force 
him to play a role for which by the forces of nature he was unfitted. 
He deserves neither ridicule nor blame for the comedy and the tragedy 
of the Reconstruction. It is one of the fundamental precepts of po- 
htical science to-day that only those people in a community can par- 
ticipate in its civic, social and political life who are conscious of a 
common origin, share a common idealism and look forward to a com- 
mon destiny. Where the community is composed of two divergent 
races rendering such a community of life impossible, the weaker and 
less favored race must inevitably and in the nature of things take 
the place assigned to it by the stronger and dominant race. 

The Republican party, which controlled all branches of the govern- 
ment after the War, might have made the Negroes wards of the 
nation, putting them into a position similar to that occupied by the 



WHO SHALL SHARE IN GOVERNMENT? 453 

American Indians. They, especially at that lime, needc<l the pro- 'J'hc funda- 

tecting arm of the Federal government thrown around them. Under "^^^g^^^^g j^ 

this system of sympathetic tutelage the African might have been our Negro 

led to develop whatever latent powers that may be inherent in his P'^'^^y- 
race. To-day he can justly raise the cry that many of the doors of 
opportunity are closed to him. . . . 

198. How many potential voters really vote? ^ 

The suffrage is, of course, a means and not an end. To extend the Though in- 

Drivilege of voting to people who make little or no use of it may be terest m 
'^ elections is 

of little consequence; the extension of the suffrage to persons who probably 

habitually use the ballot will have an appreciable effect upon govern- increasing, 

the neglect 

ment. It becomes a matter of grave cone ern, therefore, to know to vote is 

whether or not persons who are legally entitled to the vote are really ^''\' ^ 

serious 
using the ballot. Professor Hart believes that in general the interest evil. 

of individuals in elections is increasing. At the same time the fact 

that a large number of potential voters habitually stay away from 

the polls constitutes a serious problem. In the following selection, 

Professor Hart discusses the proposal to penalize those who neglect 

to vote: 

Bad weather keeps many thousands of voters at home; compul- Some people 

sorv voting would . . . disqualify thousands of men who are kept ^^^^ ^^^^ 
■> •=> ■' from the 

away by bad roads, or by the rising of the southern streams, along polls be- 

the beds of which highways are often constructed. The voter who ^^"^^ °* °^" 

weather, 
has a cold or who justly fears a cold . . . will be debarred. I doubt 

whether fear of disfranchisement or fine would greatly diminish any 

of the bad-weather classes. 

Another group is made up of those who will not mix in "dirty others re- 
politics"; who think all parties "packs of scoundrels," and who fuse to mix 
want to be left to their comfortable private life. . . . That such politics." 
persons constitute one in a hundred of the voters is hard to believe. 
If disfranchised for not voting, how many additional votes will be 
got, and how many dollars for the public treasury? 

Much larger numbers neglect to vote because they know their 

party to be in a hopeless minority, and that their votes can make no 

• From the Political Science Quarterly, Vol. vii, No. 2. Albert Bushnell Hart, 
"The Exercise of the Suffrage"; pp. 324-326. 



454 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Many 
persons 
neglect to 
vote because 
they know 
their party 
is in a 
hopeless 
minority. 



Sometimes 
voters are 
"too busy' 
to go to 
the polls. 



The problem 
of dealing 
with the 
vote seller. 



Conclusion 
upon the 
proposal to 
penahze 
potential 
voters for 
neglecting 
to vote. 



possible difference. One would expect to find many thousands of 
such men in the absolutely sure states. ... All the southern states 
have a small proportional vote; the congressional vote of Tennessee 
is about half that of Iowa, which has about the same population and 
the same industries. In Vermont, which has never gone anything 
but Republican since there was a Repubhcan party, the majority 
takes pride in displaying its own size. The stay-at-homes are about 
as numerous in close as in sure states, particularly if the opinion 
gets abroad that one party is reasonably sure to win. . , . 

One large class of abstainers would probably be reduced by [a 
compulsory voting] law; it is the men who are pubUc-spirited and 
who know that they ought to vote, but who are too busy and who 
think their duty wUl be performed by some one else. If such men 
voted without much regard for party when they did go to the polls, 
they might frequently change elections; in fact, however, their num- 
ber would probably only swell the total vote on both sides without 
much altering results. . . . 

Next comes the class, unhappily too large, of those who neither 
know nor care anything about the election, the candidates or the 
result, but who do care to sell their votes. The hope of the reformers 
seems to be that such men will get so deeply in arrears of fines that 
they will disappear out of politics from sheer inability to pay their 
way back to the suffrage. . . . 

This brings us to the last and most important class of absentees, 
those who deliberately withhold 'their votes because they think that 
they can exert more influence on public affairs in that way than by 
casting them. The great evil of the whole suffrage system is not that 
votes are few, but that they are unconsidered. If a commission 
went from house to house to get votes, so that there were no trouble 
to the voters, nineteen men out of twenty would vote their usual 
party ticket. Any unusual defection of voters means a deliberate 
lesson to party managers. A similar lesson might be taught by vot- 
ing for some third-party candidate, or by voting for a good candidate 
on the other ticket. As a matter of fact there is not in the United 
States one voter in fifty who will do either under any circumstances. 
Neither party feels more confidence in the nominating apparatus of 
the other side than in its own. American voters rarely pass from 



WHO SHALL SHARE IN GOVERNMENT? 455 

one party to another; they depend on the silent but effectual pro- 
test of leaving their party in the lurch. ... To compel men to vote 
against their will is to tighten the control of party managers. The 
defect of the compulsory system, as of many proposed reforms which 
are expected to restore the Eden period of politics, is that it does 
not go to the root of the matter. . . . 



Questions on the foregoing Readings 

1. What can be said as to the ethnic qualifications of the suffrage 

in colonial times? 

2. What moral qualifications of the suffrage were imposed in the 

New England colonies? 

3. What were some of the religious qualifications of the suffrage in 

colonial times? 

4. What can be said as to the property qualifications imposed in 

colonial times? 

5. What is meant by the doctrine of natural rights? 

6. What fundamental rights existed previous to the formation of 

government, according to the advocates of the doctrine of 
natural rights? 

7. Name two important amendments to the Federal Constitution, 

which affect the suffrage question. 

8. Summarize the arguments advanced in behalf of woman suffrage. 

9. What were some of the arguments urged against the extension 

of full suffrage to women? 

10. W^hat does experience prove as to merits and defects of the woman 

suffrage argument? 

11. What is Professor Munro's conclusion as to woman suffrage? 

12. What was the nature and purpose of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, 

and Fifteenth Amendments? 

13. In what respect has the suffrage movement developed differently 

in the North and in the South? 

14. With respect to Negro suffrage, what is the significance of recent 

constitutional changes in the South? 

15. How may an educational test be used to bar the Negro from the 

polls? 

16. Explain the nature and function of the " grandfather clause " 

in some of our southern constitutions. 

17. Why was the Negro disfranchised after the Civil War? 

18. What can be said as to the responsibility for the evils which have 

followed upon this disfranchisement? 



456 READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 

19. Explain the statement that " the operation of the [Fourteenth] 

Amendment in its relation to the Negro race has in it all of the 
irony of history." 

20. Explain carefully why the sudden enfranchisement of the Negro 

was a crime against the colored race. 

21. What was the fundamental mistake in our Negro policy in Re- 

construction times? 

22. Is interest in elections decreasing or increasing? 

23. Name some reasons why potential voters stay at home on election 

day. 

24. To what extent would a compulsory voting law bring these po- 

tential voters to the polls? 

25. What is Professor Hart's conclusion as to the value of legislation 

compelling the exercise of the suffrage? 



CHAPTER XXXIV 

THE POLITICAL PARTY 

199. Extent of party organization ^ 

There is no constitutional basis or provision for American political The political 
parties, nevertheless each of the great parties has built up a powerful -^^(^ju^jjes 
organization which coordinates its members in every part of the coun- numerous 
try. In practically every township, village, election district and elements 
city ward, there are local committees and party agents, whose work 
it is to promote the interests of the party. Above these local workers 
are county and state committees, and finally, at the top of the organi- 
zation, the national committee. Altogether the organization of a 
political party is made up of numerous and diverse groups, as 
Lord Bryce points out in the following passage: 

In America the Inner Circle, that is to say, the persons who make The list of 
political work the chief business of life, for the time being, includes: po"it*jc^a°"s^ 

First. — AU members of both houses of Congress. includes, (i) 

Secondly. — AU Federal ofhce-holders except the judges, who are (j'^^^amT^"' 
irremovable, and the "classified civil service." Federal 

Thirdly. — A large part of the members of the state legislatures. ? -, '^^g^ °j^rge^' 
How large a part, it is impossible to determine, for it varies greatly part of 
from state to state. I should guess that in New York, Pennsylvania, wiglators 
New Jersey, Cahfomia, Maryland, and Louisiana, half (or more) 
the members were professional politicians; in Connecticut, Ohio, 
Virginia, Illinois, Texas, perhaps less than half; in Georgia, Kentucky, 
Iowa, Minnesota, Oregon, not more than one- third; in Massachusetts, 
Vermont, and some other states, perhaps even less. But the line 
between a professional and non-professional politician is too indefinite 
to make any satisfactory estimate possible. 

1 From James Bryce, The American Commonwealth. The Macmillan Co., New 
York, 1914. Vol. II, pp. 62-64. 

457 



458 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



(4) most 
state ofi&ce- 
holders, 
(s) many 
local oflSce- 
holders, 



and (6) 
numerous 
olBce- 
seekers. 



The above 
are pro- 
fessional 
politicians. 



This group 
not clearly 
divisible 
from the 
non-profes- 
sional group. 



Fourthly. — Nearly all state office-holders, excluding all judges in 
a very few states, and many of the judges in the rest. 

Fifthly. — Nearly all holders of paid offices in the greater and in 
many of the smaller cities, and many holders of paid offi\:es in the 
counties. There are, however, great differences in this respect be- 
tween different states, the New England States and the newer states 
of the Northwest, as well as some southern states, choosing many of 
their county officials from men who are not regularly employed on 
politics, although members of the dominant party. 

Sixthly. — A large number of people who hold no office but want 
to get one, or perhaps even who desire work under a municipality. 
This category includes, of course, many of the "workers" of the 
party which does not command the majority for the time being, 
in state and municipal affairs, and which has not, through the Presi- 
dent, the patronage of Federal posts. It also includes many expec- 
tants belonging to the party for the time being dominant, who are 
earning their future places by serving the party in the meantime. 

All the above may fairly be called professional or Inner Circle 
politicians, but of their number I can form no estimate, save that 
it must be counted by hundreds of thousands, inasmuch as it prac- 
tically includes nearly all state and local and most Federal office- 
holders as well as most expectants of pubHc office. . . . 

I have observed that there are also plenty of men engaged in some 
trade or profession who interest themselves in politics and work for 
their party without any definite hope of office or other pecuniary 
gain. They correspond to what we have called the Outer Circle 
politicians of Europe. It is hard to draw a Une between the two 
classes, because they shade off into one another, there being many 
(^persons] who, while pursuing their regidar calling, bear a hand in 
politics, and look to be some time or other rewarded for doing so. 
When this expectation becomes a considerable part of the motive for 
exertion, such an one may fairly be called a professional, at least for 
the time being, for although he has other means of livelihood, he is 
apt to be impregnated with the habits and sentiments of the pro- 
fessional class. 

The proportion between Outer Circle and Inner Circle men is in 
the United States a sort of ozonometer by which the purity and health- 



THE POLITICAL PARTY 459 

iness of the political atmosphere may be tested. Looking at the The propor- 

North only, for it is hard to obtain trustworthy data as to the South, tion between 

professional 
and excluding Congressmen, the proportion of men who exert them- and non- 
selves in politics without pecuniary motive is largest in New England, Professional 
in the country parts of New York, in northern Ohio, and the north- in the 
western States, while the professional politicians most abound in ^mted 
the great cities — New York, Philadelphia, Brooklyn, Boston, Bal- 
timore, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Louisville, Chicago, St. Louis, New Or- 
leans, San Francisco. This is because these cities have the largest 
masses of ignorant voters, and also because their municipal govern- 
ments, handling vast revenues, offer the largest facilities for illicit 
gains. . . . 

200. How the party influences voters ^ 

The aims and purposes of the political party are various, but The most 

the most immediate objective of the party organization is to win "j^mediate 

nominations and elections. To this end a large use is made of methods party is to 

designed to influence voters in favor of principles and candidates ^'" nomina- 

.. tions and 

put forth by the party. Some of these methods are legitimate, elections, 
some are clearly illegitimate. Writing in 1906, Professor Hart de- 
scribed as follows the methods by means of which the party might 
influence voters: 

(i) The most ordinary influence on voters is simple persuasion. Voters 

In some parts of the country, especially in the South, there is joint influenced 
. by means 

discussion of public issues, hstened to by both sides. In the northern of (i) simple 

states, poUtical meetings are usually attended only by members of persuasion, 

the party that holds them, who have not come to have their opinions 

changed, but to have them confirmed. 

(2) The newspaper is of course of great influence over voters. (2) the 

Newspapers frequently take new ground, and sometimes in a hot newspaper, 

campaign change over from one side to the other; but, again, most 

Americans read only the newspapers of their own party, and hear 

very little of the argument of the other side. Hence the importance 

of special campaign Hterature; for instance, in 1896, the Republican 

National Committee deluged the state of Iowa with specially pre- 

1 From Albert Bushnell Hart, Actual Government. Longmans, Green and Co., 
New York, 1906; pp. 104-106. 



460 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



(3) 
intimidation, 



(4) violence 
at the polls, 



and (s) 

bribery, 

practiced 

either 

covertly, 



or (6) 
openly. 



pared political tracts, mailed to individual voters whom they sup- 
posed to be making up their minds on the question of the gold 
standard. 

(3) Another method of influencing voters is by intimidation 
— sometimes nothing more than the disapproval of a man who votes 
unlike his neighbors, sometimes fierce and cruel personal abuse, some- 
times threat of dismissal from employment. The AustraUan ballot 
has been favored by labor organizations because it enables the work- 
man to escape from this form of oppression, since it is almost im- 
possible to find out how a man has voted unless he himself discloses it. 

(4) Farther down still is the brutal violence at the poUs, of which 
there have been many examples in American history. The usual 
form is for friends of one party to drive away the watchers of the other 
party, or to threaten voters when they offer their ballots. With the 
introduction of metropolitan police, since i860, this violence has 
become less common in large cities; and the Australian ballot laws, 
which in many cases forbid the assemblage of persons about the 
polls, take away the pretext of violence. ... 

(s) Another too frequent method is the corruption of voters. 
Bribery is as old as votes, — very frequent in the Greek and Roman 
republics; for half a century, from 1725 to 1775, the recognized 
method of getting a government majority in the House of Commons; 
frequently practiced in the colonies; and to this day one of the most 
widespread and demoralizing influences. The most subtle form of 
bribery is to pay a man on election day for peddling tickets, for getting 
out voters, or for reporting the vote. . . . Another method is to hire 
men to stay away from the polls, one of the most dangerous of all 
forms of bribery because it cannot be detected by any baUot device. 

(6) Perhaps the baldest form is to pay money outright for votes: 
candidates for offices are often assessed thousands of dollars for 
campaign funds; and cases have been known where they have gone 
from polling-place to poUing-place, actually giving out rolls of biUs 
to be distributed among the voters. . . . This is a shameful spectacle; 
and although in most communities only a small proportion of the 
voters wfll sell their birthright, yet that smaU proportion may be just 
enough to turn the scale. 

It is needless to say that the bribed voter is no voter, that he 



THE POLITICAL PARTY 461 

is simply a pawn in the hands of a man or the organization that pays Bribery 

him. In most states there are strict laws against either giving or °'™^"'t 

"^ _ ° to prove. 

receiving bribes; but bribery is an offence extremely difficult to 
prove, because neither party desires that the transaction be made 
public. There have been cases in which, on the day of election, 
the party heelers on both sides have agreed to divide their campaign 
funds, and let the floaters cast their votes uninfluenced. Such con- 
duct is of course held dishonorable by those sensitive people who 
furnished the money. 



201. Evils of the spoils system ^ 

During the first forty years of our national life it was tacitly under- Rise of 

stood that subordinate executive officials should continue in office ^ ^ spoi s 

system. 

during good behavior, regardless of changes in the administration. 
After Jackson's first term, however, it became the custom for the 
incoming party to use offices to reward party supporters. Except 
where restricted by the merit system, each party has since that 
period secured control of government only to turn out numerous 
office-holders appointed by their opponents, and to install members 
of their own party. The evils of the spoils system at its height are 
described in the following extract from an address by Carl Schurz 
before the National Civil Service Reform League in 1894: 

Looking at the financial side of the matter alone — it is certainly Evils of 
bad enough; it is indeed almost incomprehensible how the spoils the spois 

° ' ' ^ system on 

system would be permitted through scores of years to vitiate our the financial 

business methods, . . . breeding extravagant and plundering prac- 

tices in all departments, costing our people in the course of time 

untold hundreds of millions of money, and making our government 

one of the most wasteful in the world. All this, I say, is bad 

enough. . . . 

But the spoils system has inflicted upon the American people Other evils: 
injuries far greater than these. 

The spoils system, that practice which turns public offices, high 
and low, from public trusts into objects of prey and booty for the 

• From the National Civil Service Reform League, Proceedings oj Ihc Annual 
Meeting, 1894. Address by Carl Schurz. 



462 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



The spoils 
system one 
of the most 
evil influ- 
ences in 
American life. 
It perverts 
political life. 



It debases 
the party. 



It creates 
the boss 
and the 
machine. 



It makes 
the office- 
holder a 
party slave. 



It usurps 
the consti- 
tutional 
appointing 
power. 



victorious party, may without extravagance of language be called 
one of the greatest criminals in our history, if not the greatest. In 
the whole catalogue of our ills there is none more dangerous to the 
vitality of our free institutions. 

It tends to divert our whole political life from its true aims. It 
teaches men to seek something else in politics than the public good. 
It puts mercenary selfishness as the motive power for pohtical action 
in the place of public spirit, and organizes that selfishness into a 
dominant political force. 

It attracts to active party politics the worst elements of our pop- 
ulation, and with them crowds out the best. It transforms pohtical 
parties from associations of patriotic citizens, formed to serve a 
public cause, into bands of mercenaries using a cause to serve them. 
It perverts party contests from contentions of opinion into scrambles 
for plunder. By stimulating the mercenary spirit it promotes the 
corrupt use of money in party contests and in elections. 

It takes the leadership of political organizations out of the hands 
of men fit to be leaders of opinion and workers for high aims, and 
turns it over to the organizers and leaders of bands of political ma- 
rauders. It creates the boss and the machine, putting the boss 
into the place of the statesman, and the despotism of the machine 
in the place of an organized pubhc opinion. 

It converts the public office-holder, who should be the servant of 
the people, into the servant of a party or of an influential pohtician, 
extorting from him time and work which should belong to the public, 
and money which he receives from the public for public service. It 
corrupts his sense of duty by making him understand that his obliga- 
tion to his party or his political patron is equal if not superior to his 
obligation to the public interest, and that his continuance in office 
does not depend on his fidelity to duty. It debauches his honesty 
by seducing him to use the opportunities of his office to indemnify 
himself for the burdens forced upon him as a party slave. . . . 

It falsifies our constitutional system. It leads to the usurpation, 
in a large measure, of the executive power of appointment by members 
of the legislative branch. ... It subjects those who exercise the 
appointing power, from the President of the United States down, 
to the intrusion of hordes of office hunters and their patrons, who 



THE POLITICAL PARTY 463 

rob them of the time and strength they should devote to the public 
interest. . . . 

It keeps in high political places, to the exclusion of better men, it substi- 

persons whose only abihty consists in holding a personal following *"^f®. . 

by adroit manipulation of the patronage. It has thus sadly lowered for the 

the standard of statesmanship in public position, compared with statesman. 
the high order of ability displayed in all other walks of life. 

It does more than anything else to turn our large municipalities It throws 

into sinks of corruption, to render Tammany Halls possible, and to T* "^?" 

trie pr3.cti- 

make of the police force here and there a protector of crime and a cabiHty of 
terror to those whose safety it is to guard. It exposes us, by the scan- . ^^^o'^^ftic 
dalous spectacle of its periodical spoils carnivals, to the ridicule and 
contempt of civiUzed mankind, promoting among our own people 
the growth of serious doubts as to the practicability of democratic 
institutions on a great scale. , . . 

202. The Civil Service Act of 1883^ 

The evils which Mr. Schurz outlined in 1894 have since been re- in 1883, 
duced by state and Federal legislation. A pioneer law was the Civil Congress 
Service Act passed by Congress as early as 1883, for the purpose of civil 
removing from partisan control a large number of routine and sub- Service Act. 
ordinate offices in the national administration. The more im- 
portant clauses of this act are as follows: 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of America in Congress assembled, 

That the President is authorized to appoint, by and with the ad- a Civil 

vice and consent of the Senate, three persons, not more than two of Service 

Commission 
whom shall be adherents of the same party, as Civil Service Com- created. 

missioners, and said three Commissioners shall constitute the United 
States Civil Service Commission. Said Commissioners shall hold no 
other official place under the United States. The President may 
remove any Commissioner; and any vacancy in the position of 
Commissioner shall be so filled by the President, by and with the ad- 
vice and consent of the Senate, as to conform to said conditions for 
the first selection of Commissioners. . . . 

^ From the Statutes of the United States, Civil Service Act of 1883. Preamble 
and Section 2. 



464 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Duty of the 
Commission. 



Eight 

fundamental 

rules 

laid down. 



Sec. 2. That it shall be the duty of said Commissioners: 

First. To aid the President, as he may request, in preparing 
suitable rules for carrying this act into effect, and when said rules 
shall have been promulgated it shall be the duty of all officers of th^- 
United States in the departments and offices to which any such rules 
may relate to aid, in all proper ways, in carrying said rules, and any 
modifications thereof, into effect. 

Second. And, among other things, said rules shall provide and 
declare, as nearly as the conditions of good administration will war- 
rant, as follows: 

(o) For open, competitive examinations for testing the fitness Oi 
applicants for the public service now classified or to be classified 
hereunder. Such examinations shall be practical in their character, 
and so far as may be shall relate to those matters which will fairly 
test the relative capacity and fitness of the persons examined to dis- 
charge the duties of the service into which they seek to be appointed. 

{b) That all the offices, places, and employments so arranged or 
to be arranged in classes shall be filled by selections according to 
grade from among those graded highest as the results of such com- 
petitive examinations. 

(c) Appointments to the public service aforesaid in the depart- 
ments at Washington shall be apportioned among the several states 
and territories and the District of Columbia upon the basis of popu- 
lation as ascertained at the last preceding census. Every appHcation 
for an examination shall contain, among other things, a statement, 
under oath, setting forth his or her actual bona fide residence at 
the time of making the application, as well as how long he or she 
has been a resident of such place. 

{d) That there shall be a period of probation before any absolute 
appointment or employment aforesaid. 

{e) That no person in the public service is for that reason under 
any obligations to contribute to any political fund, or to render any 
political service, and that he will not be removed or otherwise preju- 
diced for refusing to do so. 

(/) That no person in said service has any right to use his official 
authority or influence to coerce the political action of any person 
or body. 



THE POLITICAL PARTY 465 

(g) There shall be noncompetitive examinations in all proper 
cases before the Commission, when competent persons do not com- 
pete, after notice has been given of the existence of the vacancy, 
under such rules as may be prescribed by the Commissioners as 
to the manner of giving notice. 

Qi) That notice shall be given in writing by the appointing power 
to said Commission of the persons selected for appointment or em- 
ployment from among those who have been examined, of the place 
of residence of such persons, of the rejection of any such persons after 
probation, of transfers, resignations, and removals, and of the date 
thereof, and a record of the same shall be kept by said Commission. 

And any necessary exception from said eight fundamental pro- Exceptions 

visions of the rules shall be set forth in connection with such rules, ^? , 

above rules, 
and the reasons therefor shall be stated in the annual reports of the 

Commission. ... 

203. Legal regulation of campaign contributions ^ 

A few decades ago it was the custom of political parties not only Misuse of 

to accept large sums of money from special interests, but actually ^^^. ^^^' , 

paign fund 
to demand substantial contributions from railroad and other cor- has led to 

porations on pain of unfriendly legislation when the party got info reg}'|a^tive 
power. In many cases gambling houses and other illegal businesses 
contributed heavily to the campaign fund, with the understanding 
that the party so supported would, if placed in power, favor the con- 
tributing interests. The abuse of the privilege of contributing to 
the campaign fund has recently led to more and more legislation 
regulating the financial activities of the party. The following descrip- 
tion of the election laws of New York and Wisconsin will give an 
idea of this type of legislation: 

[The New York law, enacted 1890 and amended in 1906 and 1907]: The New 
[The law] defines poHtical committees and provides that any ^°'''' \^* 

•^ governing 

person who, to promote the election or defeat of a candidate, con- contributions 

tributes or expends money other than through the agency of a po- ^° ^^'^. 

° -^ "^ campaign 

Htical committee or candidate, shall file the statement required of fund of 
political committees. political 

parties. 
1 From Senate Documents, Sixtieth Congress, First Session, 1907-1008. No. 
337. Publicity oj Election Contributions and Expenditures; pp. 12-13, 17-18. 



466 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Statement 
of receipts 
and 
expenditures. 



Penalties. 



Important 
provisions 
of the 
Wisconsin 
law. 



Every political committee is required to have a treasurer who 
shall keep detailed accounts of its contributions and expenditures. 
No money may be received by or on behalf of such committee until 
it shall have chosen a treasurer. 

Within five days after the choice of such treasurer there must be 
filed a statement of his address signed by three members of the 
committee. 

Whoever receives any money on behalf of a political committee 
must give to the treasurer of the committee a detailed account of 
the same. Every payment in excess of $5 must be vouched for by 
a receipted bill and every voucher must be kept fifteen months. 
Treasurers of committees must within twenty days after election 
file a detailed statement of the receipts and expenditures of the com- 
mittee. In each case it shall include the amount received, the name 
of the person or committee from whom received, the date of its re- 
ceipt, the amount of every expenditure or disbursement exceeding 
five dollars, the name of the person or committee to whom it was 
made, and the date thereof; and unless such expenditure or disburse- 
ment shall have been made to another political committee it shall 
state clearly the purpose of such expenditure or disbursement. 

No person is permitted to contribute to a political committee in 
any name other than his own, nor can such committee knowingly 
receive any contributions under fictitious names. 

All statements must be filed and preserved for fifteen months in 
the office of the secretary of state, who must provide blanks. . . , 
Failure to file a statement or the making of a false or incomplete 
statement with "wilful intent to defeat the provisions" of the act 
is punishable by a fine of not exceeding $1,000 or imprisonment for 
not more than one year or both. . . . 

[The Wisconsin law, enacted 1897, and amended in 1905 and 1907]: 
This Act, which is one of the best-considered measures upon the 
subject, provides that the election expenses of candidates shall be 
filed in detail thirty days after the election, the purposes and amount 
of each expenditure being stated. All statements so filed must be 
kept open for public inspection for a year. The penalty for viola- 
tion of this provision is a fine of not less than $100 nor more than 
$500. PoUtical committees are defined and required to maintain a 



THE POLITICAL PARTY 467 

treasurer. . . . Treasurers of political committees are required to 
keep detailed accounts of receipts and expenditures and to file sworn 
statements thereof. This statement must be kept one year. 

Any violation of the provisions of the Act by a treasurer is punish- Penalties, 
able by a fine but not by imprisonment unless he fails to keep correct 
books of account with intent to conceal receipts or disbursements, 
or the person from whom or the object for which they have been 
received or expended, or to conceal the existence of an unpaid debt, 
or if he mutilates or destroys such accounts with intent to conceal, 
or if he fails to make the required statement within five days after 
he shall receive notice in writing, signed by five resident freeholders, 
requiring him to file such statement. Upon conviction of the latter 
class of offenses he must be imprisoned for not less than two or more 
than six months. 

This Act was amended in 1905, providing in greater detail for the The 
filing of statements of expenditures by candidates and for blanks j^'s^^^'^*'" 
for that purpose. It was made the duty of officers with whom nomina- in igos 
tion papers or certificates of election are filed to publish hsts of can- 
didates faiUng to file statements and to transmit such lists to the 
attorney-general for prosecution under penalty of a fine. 

In 1907 life-insurance companies were required to make report and in 1907. 
to the commissioner of insurance of all contributions made for po- 
litical purposes, and corporations were . . . prohibited from making 
any contributions for that purpose under stringent penalties, mak- 
ing it a felony to aid, advise, or abet violations of this provision. 



204. Legal recognition of the political party ^ 

The poUtical party sprang up in the United States as a voluntary The law has 

association, without legal basis or warrant. However, the law has taken notice 

of the party 
taken notice of the party in two ways. In the firs place, there in two ways. 

has been an increasing amount of legislation aimed at the suppression 

or regulation of certain practices of the political party. In the second 

place, there has been, in some sections at least, legal recognition 

of the fundamental services of the party. The value of the properly 

, 1 From the Statutes oj the State of Oregon, Election Law, 1907. Preamble. 



468 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



The party 
is a useful 
and 

necessary 
institution. 



Party 
govern- 
ment is 
desirable. 



Rights of 
the political 
party in 
the exercise 
of which it 
ought to be 
protected. 



regulated party is recognized by Oregon in the preamble to its elec- 
tion law of 1907, as follows: 

Under our form of government, political parties are useful and 
necessary at the present time. It is necessary for the public welfare 
and safety that every practical guaranty shall be provided by law 
to assure the people generally, as well as the members of the several 
parties, that political parties shall be fairly, freely, and honestly 
conducted, in appearance as well as in fact. 

The method of naming candidates for elective public offices by 
political parties and voluntary political organizations is the best 
plan yet found for placing before the people the names of qualified 
and worthy citizens from whom the electors may choose the officers 
of our government. The government of our state by its electors and 
the government of a political party by its members are rightfully 
based on the same general principles. Every poHtical party and every 
voluntary pohtical organization has the same right to be protected 
from the interference of persons who are not identified with it as 
its known and publicly avowed members, that the government of 
the state has to protect itself from the interference of persons who 
are not known and registered as its electors. 

It is as great a wrong to the people, as well as to the members of 
a political party, for one who is not known to be one of its members 
to vote or take any part at any election or other proceedings of such 
pohtical party, as it is for one who is not a qualified and registered 
elector to vote at any state election or take any part in the business 
of the state. 

Every political party and voluntary pohtical association is right- 
fully entitled to the sole and exclusive use of every word of its official 
name. The people of the state and the members of every political 
party and voluntary political organization are rightfully entitled to 
know that every person who offers to take any part in the affairs 
or business of any political party or voluntary political organiza- 
tion in the state is in good faith a member of such party. The reason 
for the law which requires a secret ballot when all the electors choose 
their officers, equally requires a secret ballot when the members of a 
party choose their candidates for public office. It is as necessary 
for the preservation of the public welfare and safety that there shall 



THE POLITICAL PARTY 469 

be a free and fair vote and an honest count, as well as a secret ballot 
at primary elections, as it is that there shall be a free and fair vote 
and an honest count in addition to the secret ballot at all elections 
of public officers. All qualified electors who wish to serve the people 
in an elective public office are rightfully entitled to equal opportuni- 
ties under the law. The purpose of this law is better to secure and 
to preserve the rights of political parties and voluntary political or- 
ganizations, and their members and candidates, and especially of the 
rights above stated. . . . 

Questions on the foregoing Readings 

1. What does Lord Bryce mean by the " Inner Circle" of the political 

party? 

2. What Federal office-holders are included in this Inner Circle? 

3. To what extent are state officials included in this group? 

4. Name some other individuals who may be members of the Inner 

Circle. 

5. What is meant by the Outer Circle in party politics? 

6. Explain how the class of professional party workers may grade 

into the class of non-professional workers. 

7. What is the most important of the immediate aims of the party? 

8. Explain the extent to which voters are influenced by (i) simple 

persuasion, and (2) the newspaper. 

9. What, according to Professor Hart, is the extent of intimidation 

of voters in this country? 

10. Summarize Professor Hart's conclusions as to the practice of 

bribery in the United States. 

11. When did the spoils system first develop in national politics? 

12. What are some of the evils of the spoils system from the financial 

side? 

13. How has the spoils system perverted political life and debased 

the political party? 

14. What is the relation of the spoils system to the existence of the 

political boss and machine? 

15. What does Mr. Schurz mean by the statement that the spoils 

system converts the public office-holder into a party slave? 

16. How does the spoils system usurp the constitutional appointing 

power? 

17. What is Mr. Schurz's conclusion as to the evil effects of the spoils 

system? 

18. Why was the Civil Service Act of 1883 passed? 



470 READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 

19. What is the nature of the Commission created by the Act? 

20. What are the eight fundamental rules under which the Commission 

operates? 

21. What type of legislation is reducing the evils which formerly 

attended contributions to the campaign fund of political parties? 

22. Summarize the election laws of New York with regard to con- 

tributions to the campaign fund. 

23. What facts must be contained in the statement of campaign 

contributions which is filed with the secretary of state in New 
York? 

24. What becomes of these statements? 

25. In what two ways has the law recognized the political party? 

26. Summarize the preamble to the election law of Oregon with 

respect to the desirability of party government. 

27. In the enjoyment of what rights is the political party to be pro- 

tected by law? 



CHAPTER XXXV 

CHOOSING THE AGENTS OF GOVERNMENT 

205. Essentials of a primary election law ^ 

Various methods of choosing party candidates have predominated Rise and 
at different periods in our history. An early method was the caucus, ^^^ 'Caucus 
but after 1825 the caucus decHned and the nominating convention and nomi- 
became important. The convention was an improvement upon the convention 
caucus, but was itself subject to so many defects that in the latter part 
of the nineteenth century new methods of choosing party candidates 
were developed. Of these new methods one of the most important 
and widespread is the Direct Primary. Every state in the Union Direct , 
has enacted legislation to fix the form, and to protect the adminis- 
tration, of the Direct Primary, though such legislation is not adequate 
in every state. The essential features of a good primary law are 
enumerated by Professor Woodburn in the following passage: 

To the successful working of a good primary election law the follow- 
ing features are considered essential: 

1. The primary elections of all parties should be held together The pri- 

, . . , 1 rr^i • 1 1 f maries of 

m every election precmct on the same day. Ihe time and place 01 ^^ parties 

these elections should be fixed by law and not left to be determined should be 
1 • T 1 • . 1 • 1 •!! 1 , h^ld on the 

by party committees. In this way the election day will be known, s^me day. 
the polling places will be fixed and not precarious; machine gerry- 
mandering and snap primaries will be prevented; and the voters 
of one party will be prevented from packing the primary of the other 
for the purpose of nominating weak candidates for their opponents. 

2. A good registration law. The party voters must be registered Registration. 
a certain number of days before the primary. Careful registration 

always tends to promote fair elections. 

1 From James Albert Woodburn, Political Parlies and Parly Problems in Ihe 
United States. G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1903; pp. 285-287. 

471 



472 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Legal pro- 
tection of 
the party 
against the 
unfair prac- 
tices of 
members 
of other 
parties. 



Recognition 
of the 
independent 
voter. 



Use of the 
AustraUan 
ballot. 



Other 
features 
of a good 
primary 
election law. 



3. The right to vote at a party primary should be secured against 
fraud by the registration of the party afi&liation, or preference, of 
all voters who seek to vote at the primary. No opponent of a party 
has a right to participate in its primary. The law should protect 
a party from its enemies who may seek to disrupt or weaken it. The 
test of party membership, or party fealty, is the most difficult matter 
in framing primary election laws. Experience shows that liberality 
in this direction should be encouraged. It is not necessary, nor 
is it generally desired by party managers, to shut out the independent 
element within a party. It is not necessary to apply hard party 
tests or a cast-iron pledge to support the nominees. Self-respecting 
men will not seek to vote in the primary of a party to which they 
are not attached, and the unscrupulous will do so in the face of 
pledges which they will unhesitatingly violate. . . . 

With the primaries of all parties on the same day, the voters of 
each party will be led to give their attention to their own nominations. 
The primary system is not to destroy parties, but it implies that 
the party is not merely its managers, its machine, but the whole body 
of its voters. The independent voter should recognize that the regis- 
tration of a voter's party affiliation, as the Kentucky law requires, 
is a desirable protection to the party organization. Very few would 
object to stating their party affiliation, if Other information and 
pledges as to the voter's past and future are not exacted. If 
this seems to a voter to violate his independence he may either 
refrain from voting at the primary, or other provision may be made 
for him. 

4. The Australian secret-ballot system of voting should be used 
in the primary as in the regular election day. All the ordinary safe- 
guards of the law should be placed around the primary election. All 
trickery and personal and party favoritism in choosing election judges 
and clerks should be reduced to a minimum. . . . 

Other minor features urged by primary election advocates are: 
(i) The apphcation of the law should be made mandatory and not 
be left to the option of party committees. Primary elections should 
be under state control, not under party control. (2) The rotation 
of names in the printed ballots. Any name appearing first in all 
the ballots would have a manifest advantage. The unknowing and 



CHOOSING THE AGENTS OF GOVERNMENT 473 

indifferent voters are apt to vote for the first on the Hst. In a poll 
of fifteen or twenty thousand votes the first place is probably worth 
one thousand votes to a candidate. Fairness requires rotation. . . . 



206. The non-partisan ballot ^ 

The non-partisan ballot is a ballot on which names may be phiccd Nature and 
without party designations. This system came into use between r|^''P°^^ °' 
1880 and 1890, and was intended to reduce the influence of the party partisan 
machine. It provides that candidates may be placed in nomina- °^''°*^- 
tion by filing with some specified officer nomination papers, or peti- 
tions, signed by a specified number of voters. The merits of this 
device are debated, but in many cities it has undoubtedly reduced 
partisanship to the minimum. A favorable view of the non-partisan 
ballot in Des Moines, Iowa, is given in the following selection by 
Former Mayor James R. Hanna: 

Under the Iowa law, any citizen who can secure the signatures of The cir- 

twenty-five of his fellow citizens to a statement of his honorable ^ulation of 

petitions 
standing in the community, may become a candidate for mayor or under the 

commissioner. In our three campaigns this ease of candidacy has 

been taken advantage of by great numbers and there have been 

always from thirty to more than fifty aspirants to civic honors. 

Coincident with the introduction of the Des Moines plan into our Introduction 
city affairs there sprang up, all over the city, neighborhood organiza- 2| ?, . 
tions of voters under the title of improvement leagues, etc. . . . plan. 
When the campaign . . . is well under way, the various candidates 
are invited to appear before these leagues to present their claims to 
the suffrage of the voters. . . . 

At these meetings, the various candidates, owing to the number Candidates 
that are to speak, find it necessary to present their claims to con- Present their 
sideration in talks of not to exceed ten or twelve minutes. A speaker the voters, 
must make his impression upon his hearers in very short order. . . . 
In the rapid review of candidates, the audience is, in each case, de- 
ciding on about three things. They decide first as to whether the 
speaker knows what he is talking about. In other words, they esti- 

' From the National Municipal Revinv, Vol. 11, No. 4. October, 1913. James 
R. Hanna, "Municipal Elections in Des Moines, Iowa"; pp. 654-657. 



474 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



The influ- 
ence of 
personality. 



Elimination 
of sectional 
or ward 
influence. 



mate his intellectual alertness and the soundness of judgment. 
Second, they decide upon the earnestness of purpose, or conviction, 
with which the candidate seems to present his issues. And finally 
having weighed the intelligence and sincerity of the candidate, they 
put an estimate upon his courage or determination of purpose which 
will or will not lead him to carry into effect the policies which he 
professes to stand for. 

The candidate who impresses his hearers that he knows what he 
is talking about, that he means what he says, and that he has the 
courage in the hour of trial to stand for what he advocates, generally 
has the right of way to the voters' suffrage, provided of course that 
his position on the issues of the campaign appeals to the voter as 
being sound. . . . 

Even those who may not have attended the league meetings very 
faithfully during the six weeks campaign have heard the neighbor- 
hood discussion concerning the candidates. Opinion in the vicinity 
is very clearly outlined. Municipal issues and the personality of 
the candidate enter with somewhat varying proportions into the com- 
position of the neighborhood opinion. If there are striking mu- 
nicipal issues upon which the people may divide, this has a large bear- 
ing upon the fortunes of the candidates. If, however, municipal 
issues are not pronounced, the personality of the candidate has a very 
large determining force. Indeed, with the impossibility of organizing 
candidates into groups, each group standing upon a given platform, 
the personality of the candidate has fully as much to do with his 
advancement as the issues for which he stands. . . . 

Another feature of our campaigns is the entire absence of sectional 
or ward influence. The candidate must face the entire electorate 
of the city upon the issues and interests of the entire city. He cannot 
go into one ward advocating measures for the good of that ward 
alone without incurring the hostility of the voters in other wards. 
The consequence is that the residence of the candidate is no longer 
inquired after, though at first there was considerable jealousy over 
this point. One who is not broad enough to be a citizen of the entire 
city has small hope of convincing a majority of the voters of the entire 
city of his fitness to participate in the determination of municipal 
policies as a member of the city council. . . . 



CHOOSING THE AGENTS OF GOVERNMENT 475 

The laws providing that no pre-election promises shall be made, Financial 
and that no one may give or receive money for personal assistance Protection, 
in the campaign, have a salutary effect. It is a great protection to 
the candidate to say that he cannot give money or make promises 
for any assistance. It relieves him of the incubus of the ward heeler 
and the poHtical grafter. . . . 

The ability and character of the men who are finally successful Able men 
in the election is very good. Only men of superior ability and fair 'L^^^^ °" 
repute, who are able to contend before 20,000 voters and undergo partisan 
their scrutiny, can be successful. ... '^ ^ ' 



207. Adequate representation of the majority ^ 

How can we make certain that an individual nominated or elected to secure 

represents a majority of those voting? When there are only two ^^^ adequate 

... , . . , , ^ r ■ representa- 

candidates, the one receivmg the larger number of votes receives tion of the 

both a plurality and a majority, but when there are several candi- majority, 

. .11 . *^^e prefer- 

dates, the victor may have received the sanction of only a small ential voting 

minority of those voting. This means that the chosen official rep- device has 

been put 
resents a minority, and that the majority are not adequately repre- forward. 

sented. To remedy this defect, several devices have been suggested, 
among them the preferential ballot. How one type of preferential 
voting works is explained by Mr. Reginald Mott Hull in the fol- 
lowing passage: 

In the method of voting proposed in Cambridge [Mass.,] any -phe 

fifty voters could secure a place on the final ballot for the name of proposed 
1 • • <• 1 • /•/- . , , • Cambridge 
their nominee for any elective office. Election is by the city at plan in- 
large, to a highly paid, conspicuous position for a three year term, eluded pro- 

, . . , /- .1 vision for a 

with no party designation, no primary, and, after the first year, with short and 

never more than two offices in the city council to be filled annually, non-partisan 

Every candidate stands on his own feet, — no boss dictates who 

shall, or shall not run. The man who can survive this test must 

win on his own merit, and not merely drift into office on a party 

label unknown to most of his fellow citizens. 

The preferential ballot enables the voters of the city in one elec- 

1 From the National Municipal Review, Vol. i, No. 3, July, IQ12. Reginald 
Mott Hull, "Preferential Voting and How It Works"; pp. 387-388. 



476 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



The prefer- 
ential ballot 
makes pos- 
sible a ma- 
jority choice, 
or at least 
a legitimate 
plurality 
choice. 



How the 
preferential 
ballot is 
arranged. 



How the 
successful 
candidate is 
ascertained. 



Evils of 
the present 
system. 



lion to arrive at a majority choice irrespective of the number of 
candidates, provided there is anyone in the list of candidates ac- 
ceptable to a majority. If there is none such in the list, it is obviously 
not the fault of the preferential ballot. Besides, we get the next 
best thing and the only thing possible with such a list of nominees, 
a legitimate pluraUty election; i.e. a plurality election based on a 
full and free expression of choice by the voters in place of the cus- 
tomary one in which a voter with only one choice must vote against 
all the candidates but one, though there may be several excellent 
names in the list. ... 

The modem preferential ballot is arranged like the ordinary 
Australian ballot, except that instead of one column for crosses there 
are three provided, headed "first choice," "second choice," and "other 
choices" respectively. The voter places a cross in the first column 
after the name of his first choice for that office, and in the second 
column after the name of his second choice. If there are others ac- 
ceptable, and still others quite undesirable, the voter will place 
a cross after all the other acceptable men in the third column. This 
means that he not only has the opportunity to vote for aU the good 
men, but also thus against all the undesirable ones. 

If some candidate polls a majority of all the votes in the first 
column, he is elected. Failing that, the first and second choice 
votes are added together. The candidate, now highest, wins, if he 
has a majority. If no man can command a majority of the firsts 
and seconds, meaning that there are a number of nearly equally de- 
sirable candidates, the choices in the third column are now added in. 
The highest man then wins whether he has a majority or not — for 
he is the man on the list behind whom the greatest number of voters 
are found to have gathered after each has specified all whom he cares 
to support. 

This wiU always result in a majority election, unless the list of 
candidates happens to contain no one on whom the majority can 
freely and automatically unite. . . . 

Under our present system the voter can vote for but one man what- 
ever the number of good or bad candidates, and the chances are that 
the undesirable man will win, because the machine can prevent the 
scattering of its vote among a lot of nominees, whereas, if the citizens 



CHOOSING THE AGENTS OF GOVERNMENT 477 

had a real opportunity for free expression, a large majority might 
have gotten together behind some independent candidate. 

For instance, one man was elected mayor of a Massachusetts An example, 
city about a year ago by 1800 votes out of 7200; the 5400 other 
votes being divided nearly equally among four other candidates. 
The primary partisan system to prevent such mishaps has to choke 
off, in the interest of harmony, desirable candidates, in order not 
to risk a party defeat through a split ticket. . . . 

The present system necessitates the expenditure of large sums How pref- 

of money and a great deal of time and energy to be nominated or ^^ential 

voting im- 
elected. Under the preferential system no money or time need be proves upon 

expended in campaigns. A man can be elected on his reputation as present 

system. 
is shown by the fact that the president of the Chamber of Commerce 

was elected to the Spokane city council during his absence from the 

city. . . . 



208. Adequate representation of the minority ^ 

Related to the question of making sure that successful candidates The ade- 
represent a majority of those voting, is the problem of the adequate '^^^^^ repre- 
representation of the minority. To meet this last-named dilhculty of the 
political reformers have put forth various plans for proportional '"•'^^"ty. 
representation. These are designed to give minority parties rep- 
resentation in proportion to their voting strength. One of the earliest 
and best known forms of proportional representation is that applied 
in Illinois in 1870 in the effort to give minority parties adequate 
representation in the state legislature. The following passage de- 
scribes the plan in use in Illinois: 

[The law provides] that "in all elections of representatives afore- Framework 
said, each qualified voter may cast as many votes for one candidate °i}^^ , 

Ilhnois plan 

as there are representatives to be elected, or may distribute the of propor- 
same, or equal parts thereof, among the candidates, as he shall see ^^^^^^ '"^P" 

resentation. 

fit; and the candidates highest in votes shall be declared elected." 
Under this plan it is of course true that any party having more than 
one-fourth of the votes in a senatorial district may elect one of the 

' From the IlHnois Legislative Reference Bureau, Constitutional Convention 
Bulletins. Springfield, 111., 1920; pp. 538-542. 



478 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Importance 
of each 
party 
gauging 
its own 
strength. 



The device 
secured 
proportional 
representa- 
tion for 
the two 
principal 
parties 



as well as 
for the 
Progressive 
Party in 
1912, 



three candidates to the House of Representatives, if all of the votes 
of that party are concentrated upon one such candidate. A party 
having less than three-fourths of the votes in a senatorial district 
cannot elect all three of the representatives from the district if any 
other party having at least one-fourth of the votes has concentrated 
upon a single candidate; and if a party having a distinct majority, 
but less than three-fourths of the votes in a senatorial district, scatters 
its votes among three candidates, a minority party may be able to 
elect two candidates by a concentration of its votes upon the two. 

The cumulative system therefore makes it necessary that each 
party gauge its strength in advance of the election, and concentrate 
its votes in the election upon the number of candidates it thinks 
possible to elect. A minority party able actually to elect but one 
candidate may lose that one if it places two or three candidates in 
the field. The majority party able to elect two may lose one of the 
two if it places three in the field, and there have been some instances 
of a party failing to obtain under the cumulative system a represen- 
tation in proportion to its strength, because of its placing too many 
candidates in the field. On the other hand, a party may fail of ob- 
taining representation of its strength under the cumulative system 
because of its failure to have as many candidates as it could actually 
elect. That is, a party which has been a minority party in a district 
may place but one candidate in the field for representative, and may 
as the result of the particular election become the majority party with 
a possibility of electing two members of the house, if it had nominated 
two candidates. . . . 

With respect to the operation of the cumulative system, it may 
perhaps be said that the system has in the main obtained a rep- 
resentation for the two principal parties in the state in very close 
proportion to the actual votes cast by these parties, and also that 
the system obtained for the Progressive party in 191 2 a strength in 
the House of Representatives proportionate to the vote cast by that 
party. 

However, the cumulative system has not obtained much of actual 
representation for weak minority parties, or for minority parties 
whose strength may be relatively great, but whose vote may be scat- 
tered somewhat evenly throughout all of the senatorial districts in 



CHOOSING THE AGENTS OF GOVERNMENT 479 

the state. The Progressive party in 1912 cast a large vote, but its 
strength was much greater in some senatorial districts than in others. 
The Progressive party was, therefore, able in 191 2 to elect a number 
of representatives proportional to the popular vote which was cast 
for representatives. In 1914, however, the actual vote cast for rep- 
resentatives by the Progressive party was much less than in 191 2, 
and with this lesser vote the Progressive party obtained a strength 
in the House of Representatives disproportionately low as compared 
with the popular vote. . . . 

The same situation has presented itself with respect to other but small 
minority parties, which have not obtained such a strength as to be- ™"l°"^^av 
come substantially the chief minority party in particular districts, continued 
The cumulative system in its operation has been in no way a scheme j° \\ 
of proportional representation except as between the two principal of represen- 
parties. . . . Perhaps the main purpose in the adoption of cumu- ^^^^°'^- 
lative voting in 1870 was to do away with the distinctly sectional 
representation in the Illinois General Assembly, and this purpose has 
been accomplished. . . . However, small parties have as a rule 
suffered from lack of representation and the cumulative system has 
been of little or no aid to them. 



209. Evils of the long ballot^ 

The wave of democracy which swept over the country in the last Increasing 
century had the effect of increasing the number of elective offices ?"^^ ° 
in American government. A greatly lengthened ballot, together and the 
with the great frequency of elections, has made it impossible for the 
average voter to exercise proper judgment at the polls. Fairly 
representative of conditions throughout the United States is the 
case of Ohio, in which the long ballot was formerly a great evil. In The case 
191 1 a Short Ballot Committee reported upon conditions in Ohio 
as follows: 

This unsatisfactory and undemocratic development of our election At first 
appliances has been one of gradual growth. The first constitution 



result. 



of Ohio: 



few officials 
were 



of Ohio, adopted in 1802, incorporated the principle of comparatively elective, 

• From the Municipal Association of Cleveland for the Short Ballot Movement 
in Ohio, Report. Cleveland, Ohio, 1911; pp. 6-10. 



48o 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



but grad- 
ually the 
ballot was 
lengthened. 



Some 

examples of 
the long 
ballot. 



The burden 
on the voter 
increased by 
initiative and 
referendum 
legislation. 



few elective officers. The only elective officials were the Governor, 
members of the General Assembly, one sheriff and one coroner in 
each county, and such town and township officers as should be pro- 
vided by law. The secretary, treasurer, and auditor of state, and 
judges of the courts, were appointed by joint ballot of the Senate 
and House of Representatives. All other civil offices, created by 
law, were made appointive. 

Experience quickly proved that this arrangement of providing 
for the appointment of officers by the General Assembly was unwise, 
for it resulted inevitably in log-rolling and in purely partisan political 
appointments. As a result . . . the new constitution, adopted in 
185 1, provided for the election of the members of the legislature, 
Governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, auditor of state, 
treasurer of state, attorney general, members of board of public 
works, judges of supreme, common pleas and probate courts, clerks 
of courts, justices of peace, and all county and township officers. 
The General Assembly was forbidden to exercise any appointing 
power, except as specifically provided for in the constitution. . . . 

The ballot of the state and county election of 1908 contained the 
names of 391 candidates for forty-five separate offices, not including 
the twenty-three presidential electors. The ballot of the 1910 election 
contained the names of 210 candidates for forty-two positions. 
The ballot in the Cleveland municipal election of 1909 contained 
the names of 285 candidates. In the 191 1 primary election in Cleve- 
land 324 names appeared on the tickets of the two dominant parties. 
And at the November election of 191 1, four tickets were submitted 
to the voter in each precinct in Cleveland containing the names of 
132 candidates for forty distinct offices. . . . 

[Recent initiative and referendum legislation promises to increase 
the burden on the voter.] On November 7, the voters of Cleve- 
land, for example, were asked not only to make their choice of forty 
officials from a list of 132 candidates representing the four political 
parties, but also to express an opinion upon the advisability of the 
city issuing $2,000,000 in bonds for building a municipal lighting 
plant; an opinion on the question of whether the twelve amendments 
recently made to the Tayler Street Railway grant by the city council 
are for the protection of the public interest; and also an opinion 



CHOOSING THE AGENTS OF GOVERNMENT 481 

on the advisability of creating a i)ark commission as a substitute 
for the present plan of park control. When the voter entered the 
booth on November 7, he received seven separate and distinct 
ballots. . . . 

The voters of Cincinnati were confronted with an even more for- The burden 
midable task. They were given nine separate and distinct ballots: °" ^. 

1. The municipal ticket, containing names of candidates for city Cincinnati, 
offices. 

2. Board of Education — non-partisan ballot. 

3. Delegates to Constitutional Convention. 

4. Judicial ballot in three parts. 

5. Ballot providing for annexation of eight suburbs. 

6. Bond issue in two parts — hospital purposes. 

7. Bond issue for new jail and courthouse. 

8. For increased tax levy under the Smith law. 

9. To provide for Agricultural Experimental Farm in Hamilton 
County. 

To say that the voters in these two cities were called upon to Under such 
perform a difficult task is far within the facts — plainly, it was an glances 
impossible task. It is absurd to expect the average voter, whose intelligent 
first duty is to earn a living for himself and family, to give the time i^,^pofsible 
necessary to enable him to vote intelligently and with discrimination 
on so many candidates and at the same time on such complicated 
questions. . . . The best informed voter was probably able to vote 
intelligently, as we have pointed out, upon not more than one-tenth 
of the candidates on the various ballots and he was therefore obliged 
to vote ignorantly on the other nine-tenths. . . . 



210. The principle of the short ballot^ 

The shortening of the ballot is advocated as a remedy for the The pro- 
evils of the long ballot. The essential features of the short ballot Po^ed 

remedy 

plan are first to elect only those officers who have to do with important for the 
public policies and who attract and deserve to attract public attention, |°"^ 
and second to make the number of these officers small enough that 

1 From the National Short Ballot Association, The Doctrine of the Short Ballot. 
New York, 1910. 



482 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Mis-gov- 
ernment 
lurks only 
in the 
shadows. 



"Moham- 
med must 
go to the 
mountain." 



Minor 
offices to 
be made 
appointive. 



An example 
of a 

shortened 
ballot. 



the voters may be able intelligently to study their qualifications. 
All other officials would be appointed, either directly by executive 
officers, or through the merit system. The principle of the short 
ballot is explained in the following extract from a pamphlet issued 
by the National Short Ballot Association: 

Any conspicuous office is beyond the control of corruptive forces. 
The conspicuous office stands on a pinnacle of light, utterly beyond 
the reach of the low poUtician. Good government is in fact so much 
a matter of concentration of pubUc attention, that pubhcity will 
make even corrupt officials behave themselves and move with great 
circumspection. . . . Mis-government lurks only in the shadows, 
in the places where the spot-Ught never touches. It cannot survive 
when a commission begins to investigate or when some especially 
important matter attracts to it the attention of the public. 

We cannot hope to raise the level of the political inteUigence of 
the entire citizenship to a point where it can handle the long ballot 
wisely. "The mountain will not come to Mohammed, Mohammed 
must go to the mountain. " We must shorten the ballot to a point 
where the average man will vote intelligently without giving to poh- 
tics more attention than he does at present. We must so reduce the 
total number of candidates that the newspapers will be able to 
give adequate attention to each. Voting a straight ticket is not a 
matter of party loyalty so much as of not knowing what else to do, 
and spUt tickets will become common as soon as the list is reduced 
to a point where each candidate becomes in the mind of the voter 
a definite personaUty instead of a mere name on a long list. 

To make public office conspicuous can only be accomplished by 
making it stand out in solitude before the gaze of the voter. Let 
all the encumbrances in the shape of minor offices disappear from the 
ballot and be made appointive. Or at the very least prevent the few 
offices from overshadowing the many. . . . 

To be pictorial, let us see how a revised schedule of elections might 
look if we put into the realm of appointive offices as many as pos- 
sible of those which public opinion now ignores. All county offices, 
many city positions and the entire tail of the state ticket would be 
disposed of and the ballots would look something like this: 



CHOOSING THE AGENTS OF GOVERNMENT 



483 



First Year 


Second Year 


Third Year 


Fourth Year 


President and 


Governor 


Congressman 


State Senator 


Vice President 


four years 


two years 


four years 


four years 








Congressman 


State 


Mayor 


State 


two years 


Assemblyman 


four years 


Assemblyman 




two years 




two years 


City Councilman 




City 




two years 




Councilman 
two years 





This schedule . . . provides for every office which is properly Merits of 
within the realm of politics. It provides ballots which any man can this plan, 
and would vote intelligently. The tendency is always to vote for 
men, not for parties; most men, even now, say, "I shall vote for 
Mr. — ," rather than "I shall vote the Republican ticket." The 
personality of the conspicuous nominee appeals to the voter far 
more than his party label and the candidate whose personality is 
really familiar to the voters is almost independent of either the help 
or the opposition of his party machine. 

So in the "second year," for instance, men will tell each other 
"I shall vote for Jackson and Williams," these being candidates for 
Governor and Assemblyman respectively, and if the wisdom of the 
latter choice is challenged there will be facts and reasons forthcoming. 
The average voter could carry the whole political situation in his 
head — political speciahsts would be superfluous. Instead of bUndly 
ratifying a boss' selection for assemblyman, the voter will know all 
about the nominee. . . . Aspirants to ofhce will have to appeal to 
the voters direct and when elected will be responsive directly to those 
voters without the intermediate party organization which now acts 
as a kind of "shock absorber.". . . 

We must get on a basis where the good intentions of the average The goal, 
voter find intelligent expression on the entire ticket so as to produce 
good government year after year without a great fight. . . . Public 
opinion must always work in broad masses, clumsily but with tremen- 
dous force. To make a multitude of little decisions is beyond its 



484 READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 

coarse powers. It can't play the tune it has in mind upon our com- 
plicated political instrument; but give it a keyboard simple enough 
for its huge, slow hands, and it will thump out the right notes with 
precision. 



Questions on the foregoing Readings 

1. Name several methods of choosing party candidates which have 

predominated at different periods in our history. 

2. Why should the primary elections of all parties be held together 

in every election precinct on the same day? 

3. How would the " registration of party affiliation " protect the 

party at the direct primary? 

4. Name some minor features of a good primary election law. 

5. When did the non-partisan ballot come into use? 

6. What is the nature of this ballot? 

7. What is its purpose? 

8. With reference to Iowa, how many signatures must be secured 

before a citizen may become a candidate for mayor or com- 
missioner? 

9. What is the nature of the " improvement league "? 

10. How are the claims of candidates for municipal office in Des 

Moines, Iowa, presented to the voters? 

11. What is the influence of personality in such contests? 

12. What can be said as to the elimination of sectional or ward influ- 

ence in municipal elections in Des Moines? 

13. Why has the preferential voting device been put forward? 

14. Give the main provisions of the plan proposed in Cambridge, 

Massachusetts. 

15. What is meant by saying that preferential voting makes possible 

either a majority choice, or a legitimate plurality choice? 

16. How is the successful candidate ascertained under this preferential 

voting plan? 

17. Why has the plan for proportional representation been put forward? 

18. Discuss the framework of the Illinois plan for proportional repre- 

sentation. 

19. Why is it important for each party to gauge its own strength under 

this plan? 

20. To what extent has the Illinois plan allowed proportional repre- 

sentation to the two principal parties? to minor parties? 

21. Trace the development of the long ballot in Ohio. 

22. Give some examples of excessive burdens borne by the voters of 

Ohio cities. 



CHOOSING THE AGENTS OF GOVERNMENT 485 

23. How has initiative and referendum legislation increased this 

burden? 

24. What plan has been advocated as a remedy for the evils of the 

long ballot? 

25. Point out the chief advantages which are claimed for this plan. 

26. What is the goal of election reformers? 



CHAPTER XXXVI 



Some 

factors 

influencing 

legislation 

in the 

United 

States. 



Defects of 

American 

legislation: 

(i) lack of 

resjjonsi- 

bility. 



HONESTY AND EFFICIENCY IN OFFICE 
211. Obstacles to intelligent legislation^ 

In both state and national legislatures lawmaking is notori- 
ously inefficient and defective. American legislators are not always 
public-spirited or competent, but even where our lawmakers are 
conscientious and capable, it has been shown again and again that 
the laws which they turn out are often defective and ill-considered. 
We must admit, therefore, that regardless of the personnel of our 
legislatures there are in this country serious obstacles to intelligent 
legislation. These obstacles are discussed by Professor Freund in 
the following passage: 

The shortcomings of our present system may be said to be lack 
of responsibility, lack of expert advice, and lack of principle . 

I. Responsibility. . . . Any member of the legislature may in- 
troduce any bill he pleases, and his doing so does not even necessarily 
mean that he assumes any responsibility for its form or contents. 
... It has been suggested that it might be well to limit each mem- 
ber of a state legislature to a small number of bills, to induce him 
to exercise some care and discrimination. If this were regarded as 
[^unreasonable], he might at least be required, as a coiidition of having 
his bill considered by a committee, to state at whose request, at the 
instance of which interest or organization, he introduced a measure; 
still better to furnish a memorandum of the purpose of the biU and 
an explanation of its provisions, as is now common in the national 
legislature when a bill is reported favorably by a committee. This 
would ensure the correction of many errors and would tend to fix 
responsibility. ... All this could be accomplished by rules of the 

1 From the American Political Science Association, Proceedings at its Fourth 
Annual Meeting, igoy. Waverly Press, Baltimore, Md., 1908. Ernest Freund, 
"The Problem of Intelligent Legislation"; pp. 71-74, 77. 

486 



HONESTY AND EFFICIENCY IN OFFICE 487 

legislature. The publication of bills in advance of their introduction 

would be even more desirable. . . . 

While the executive cannot initiate legislation directly, he can The part 

do so practically through friendly members, and assume the political *^. ^^' 
f J •=> ■> ' r- ecutive m 

responsibility therefor. The practice is not uncommon now, and will securing 
probably grow in the future. . . . The share of our executives in "^^tter laws, 
legislation at the final stage of the process is much larger than it is 
in most European states, but at present the sense of responsibility 
for its exercise is limited. While governors regard it as their duty 
to veto measures that are plainly unconstitutional or unworkable, 
they generally yield to the legislature in matters of policy. A freer 
exercise of the veto power than is now common, based upon loose- 
ness and faultiness of provisions, would, however, be tolerated not 
only by the people, but probably by the legislature itself. . . . 

2. Expert Advice. — There are two distinct kinds of advice that (2) Lack of 
the legislature stands in need of, the first as to the content of legis- ^j^^* 
lation, the second as to its legal form. 

As to the first, the theory is that the legislature is acquainted 
with the circumstances and needs of the people, . . . but as a matter 
of fact, most of the information necessary for intelligent legislation 
cannot be acquired without special study or even special training. . . . 
Where the subject to be legislated on is one not supposed to be techni- 
cal, the legislature commonly acts upon the vaguest impressions, 
reflecting popular beliefs and prejudices. . . . 

As regards the correct legal form of expressing the subject-matter 
of legislative proposals, it is recognized that this is a task requiring 
technical learning. . . . The technical shortcomings of our statutes 
are chiefly due to the fact that they come from so many hands working 
without supervision and without a concerted plan. Each statute 
is apt to create to some extent an administrative machinery of its 
own, to have its own peculiar provisions for sanction and enforce- 
ment, to frame anew rules and principles applicable to already exist- 
ing acts in pari materia. The multiplicity of separate provisions for 
separate statutes produces dis-harmony and confusion, and unneces- 
sarily encumbers our law. . . . 

3. [^Lack of principle']. — By principle I understand the permanent 
and non-partisan poUcy of justice in legislation, the observance of 



488 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



(3) lack of 
principle. 



the limits of the attainable, the due proportion of means to ends, 
and moderation in the exercise of powers which by long experience 
has been shown to be wise and prudent, though it may be tempo- 
rarily inconvenient or disappointing in the production of immediate 
results. ... 



The move- 
meat to 
employ 
expert bill- 
drafters, 
and to 
establish 
legislative 
reference 
bureaus. 



The best 
way to 
improve 
legislation 



is to 
help the 
legislator. 



212. The legislative reference bureau ^ 

The activities of political reformers have not markedly reduced 
the evUs of unintelligent legislation; nevertheless there are here 
and there indications of a new attitude toward the problems of the 
lawmaker. There is a growing tendency for state legislatures to 
employ an expert bill-drafter to draw up laws on technical matters. 
Often this bill- drafter works in conjunction with a legislative reference 
bureau, provision for which now exists in a number of states. The 
first of these bureaus was the Wisconsin Legislative Reference Depart- 
ment, established in 190 1. The following is an extract from a publicity 
bulletin of the Department, issued in 1908: 

Our short experience has taught us many things. We have been 
convinced that there is a great opportunity to better legislation 
through work of this kind, — that the best way to better legislation 
is to help directly the man who makes laws. We bring home to him 
and near to him everything which wiU help him to grasp and under- 
stand the great economic problems of the day in their fullest sig- 
nifiance, and the legislative remedies which can be applied and the 
legislative limitations which exist. 

We must take the theory of the professors and simplify it so that 
the layman can grasp it immediately and with the greatest ease. The 
legislator has no time to read. His work is new to him, he is beset 
with routine work, he has to have conferences with his friends upon 
political matters, he is beset by ofifice seekers and lobbyists, and he 
has no time to study. If he does not study or get his studying done 
for him, he will fall an easy prey to those who are looking out to better 
their own selfish ends. Therefore we must shorten and digest and 
make clear all information that we put within his reach. . . . 

Some essentials in carrying on this work may be summarized 
briefly: 

1 From the Wisconsin Legislative Reference Department, Publicity Bulletin, 1908. 



HONESTY AND EFFICIENCY IN OFFICE 489 

1. The first essential is a selected library convenient to the legis- Importance 
lative halls. This Ubrary should consist of well- chosen and selected ?} ^ 

uhrary in 
material. A large horary is apt to fail because of its too general helping the 

nature and because it is Uable to become cumbersome. This library l3,wmaker. 

should be a depository for documents of all descriptions relating 

to any phase of legislation from all states, Federal government, and 

particularly from foreign countries. . . . Books are generally behind 

the times, and newspaper clippings from all over the country, and 

magazine articles, court briefs, and letters must supplement this 

library and compose to a large extent its material. 

2. A trained librarian and indexer is absolutely essential. The The 
material is largely scrappy and hard to classify. We need a person librarian, 
with a hberal education, who is original, not stiff, who can meet an 
emergency, and who is tactful as well. 

3. The material is arranged so that it is compact and acces- Arrangement 
sible. ... o^ material. 

4. Complete index of all bills which have not become laws in the 
past should be kept. This saves the drawing of new bills and makes 
the experience of the past cumulative. 

5. Records of vetoes, special messages, political platforms, politi- PoUtical 

cal literature, and other handy matter should be carefully noted documents 

•^ and records. 

and arranged. . . . 

6. Digests on laws on every subject before the legislature should Digests of 

be made and many copies kept. Leading cases on all these laws and '^^^ should 

1- 1 1- 1 "'^ kept, 

opinions of public men and experts upon the working of these laws 

or upon the defects, technical or otherwise, should be carefully 

indexed, and, as far as possible, published in pamphlet form, with 

short bibliographies of the subjects most before the people. 

7. The department must be entirely nonpolitical and nonpartisan Importance 
or else it will be worse than useless. If you have the choice between "^ nonpar- 

... tisanship. 

establishing a political department and no department at all, take 
the latter. 

8. The head of the department should be trained in economics. The head 

poUtical science, and social science in general, and should have also °} ^^^ 

department, 
a good knowledge of constitutional law. He should, above all, 

have tact and knowledge of human nature. 

9. There should be a trained draftsman connected with the depart- 



490 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



A trained 
draftsman 
essential. 



ment, — a man who is a good lawyer and something more than a 
lawyer, a man who has studied legislative forms, who can draw a bill, 
revise a statute, and amend a bill when called upon to do so. Such 
a man working ■vsdth this department and the critical data which 
it contains will be absolutely essential. 



Rapid 

development 
of state ad- 
ministrative 
departments 
and the result. 



The defects 
of state 
administra- 
tion, 
briefly 
smnmarized : 



Lack of 
correlation, 



213. Defects of the state administration^ 

The history of state administrative departments in the last half 
century is the story of rapid and divergent growth, largely without 
superintendence or direction. As a result, the administrative depart- 
ment is in most states a confused and tangled mass of boards 
and commissions, bureaus and single offices, often duplicating the 
work of one another, and largely working without any appreciable 
degree of coordination. The evils of this situation may be Ulustrated 
by the following extract from the 1915 Report of the Illinois Effi- 
ciency and Economy Committee: 

As a result of its investigations, the Committee finds that a 
condition of disorganization and confusion exists in the executive 
departments of the state government which necessarily produces 
inefficiency and waste in the state services. . . . 

The main points in the indictment may be briefly summarized: 

. . . Under the existing arrangements inefficiency and waste neces- 
sarily arise from the lack of correlation and cooperation in the work 
of different offices and institutions which are carrying out similar 
or closely related functions. There are separate boards for each of 
the state penitentiaries and reformatory and for each of the state 
normal schools. There are half a dozen boards deaUng with agricul- 
tural iaterests; and about a score of separate labor agencies. . . . 
State finance administration is distributed between a number of 
elective and appointive officials and boards without concentrated 
responsibihty. The supervision of corporations and of banks, insur- 
ance companies and public utilities is exercised by a series of dis- 
tinct departments. . . . Nor is there any official authority for har- 
monizing the work of the numerous educational agencies. . . . 



1 From the Illinois Efficiency and Economy Committee, Report. Chicago, 1915; 
pp. 18-24. 



HONESTY AND EFFICIENCY IN OFFICE 491 

Even where there is no direct dupUcation of work, the present 
laws frequently give powers to several departments under which 
each employs agents for purposes which could be more efficiently 
and economically performed by one agent at the same time. Thus 
the inspectors of the state board of health, the state food commis- 
sioner and the chief factory inspector may each visit the same place 
for different purposes, and perhaps give conflicting orders; while 
a single thorough inspection for all of these offices would be more 
effective and less expensive. . . . 

As a result of the absence of any systematic organization of related ineffective 
services, there is no effective supervision and control over the various supervision, 
state boards and commissions. It is true that the greater number 
of these are under the nominal supervision of the Governor, through 
his power of appointment and removal. But the very number of 
separate offices makes impossible the exercise of any adequate 
control. To a very large extent each authority is left to determine 
its own action; conflict of authority between two or more offices 
is often possible; and if harmony and cooperation are secured it is 
by voluntary compromise rather than by the advice or decision 
of a superior authority. Under the present arrangements too many 
independent authorities have power to make expenditures subject 
to no effective centralized control or responsibility. This situation 
necessarily leads to waste and extravagance. . . . 

One of the most serious defects arising from the lack of correla- lack of 

tion and effective supervision over the subordinate authorities is ^ ^ ^^' 
^ system, 

the absence of any satisfactory budget of estimates as a basis of 

appropriations. [This is a serious evil which must be attacked.^. . . 

With the existing lack of efficient executive organization.^ both inadequate 

the Governor and the General Assembly fail to receive proper infor- f yice on 

■' ft- legislation, 

mation and advice as to needed legislation. . . . Conflicting measures 
are often proposed by different state authorities; and many pro- 
posals are presented from outside sources both on subjects within 
and without the jurisdiction of existing executive officials. As a 
result there is no harmonious legislative policy even formulated; 
and the measures enacted not only lack coherence, but at times 
acts are passed at the same session which contain directly contra- 
dictory provisions. ... 



492 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



and irre- 
sponsible 
government. 



Finally under the present arrangements Qthe public] is unable 
to locate definite responsibility for negligence or misconduct in pub- 
lic business. Public opinion usually considers the Governor respon- 
sible for the conduct of the state government; but with the lack of 
effective executive control over the subordinate officials this opinion 
is not fully justified. At the same time, the popular conception of 
the Governor's responsibility, in the opinion of this Committee, 
is based on a sound and just principle; and the machinery of state 
administration should be so organized as to enable this conception 
to be adequately realized. 



Reorgani- 
zation of 
the Illinois 
state ad- 
ministration 
recom- 
mended. 



Results to 
be expected: 

Greater 
economy 



and 

efficiency. 



214. Results of a reorganized state administration^ 

The Illinois Efficiency and Economy Committee offered such con- 
clusive proof of the need of a reorganization of the state adminis- 
tration that the public could not fail to be convinced of the neces- 
sity of a change. In 191 7, accordingly, the administrative offices 
in that state were reorganized, more than a hundred offices being 
consolidated, by combination and elimination, into nine departments. 
The results to be expected from such a reorganization, the committee 
had outlined in 191 5 as follows: 

The proposed organization of related services into the same depart- 
ment will bring about greater economy and efficiency by eliminat- 
ing unnecessary and duplicate positions, and still more by bringing 
about greater harmony and cooperation in the work of such offices. 
It should also be easier to avoid overlapping of functions and to pro- 
mote cooperation between the several main departments. . . . Under 
the proposed organization there should also be little or no occasion 
for the creation of additional departments in the future, as new 
services when needed can be attached to some of the departments 
already established. 

Efficiency and economy should also be secured under the proposed 
plan of reorganization by establishing a more definite system of 
supervision over the several branches of state administration. The 
head of each department will determine many matters hitherto 

1 From the Illinois Efficiency and Economy Committee, Report. Chicago, 191 5 5 
pp. 74-76. 



HONESTY AND EFFICIENCY IN OFFICE 493 

brought to the attention of the Governor or decided by minor ofificials 
without relation to other related offices; while the more important 
questions will be presented to the Governor with adequate infor- 
mation and in proper form for prompt action. By this means the 
Governor will be enabled to give more attention and consideration 
to the larger problems both of administration and legislation. 

With regard to the constitutional elective officers, these cannot Shifts in 
be brought under the complete control of the Governor without f^^PO"^'- 
changes in the state constitution. Under the proposed plans, how- 
ever, these officials will be given authority and can be held respon- 
sible for all matters properly belonging to their offices; while func- 
tions now placed on these officers which are not closely related to their 
primary duties will be transferred to offices under the supervision 
and control of the Governor. 

With a well-organized executive system, recommendations from Increased 
the several departments shoiild also be of much assistance to the ^^sistance in 

'^ legislation. 

General Assembly in matters of legislation. Such recommendations 

should cover a large part of the important legislation needed; and 
coming from officers responsible for its execution will be more care- 
fully prepared, both as to substance and form and with reference 
to previous legislation, than proposals from other sources. By this 
means there should be brought about greater harmony between 
the executive and legislative branches of the state government. 

Moreover, under the proposed reorganization the general public Government 

will be able to learn more readily from the reports of the important ^' , ^ 

J t- f made more 

departments of the actual conduct of public affairs in any of the responsible, 
main fields of state government. And, as the Governor will have 
authority over the whole executive organization, and means for en- 
forcing this authority, so far as possible under the present consti- 
tution, he may properly be held responsible by public opinion for 
its operation. 

The proposed reorganization will also aid in the preparation of Budget- 
a proper budget of estimates as a basis for appropriations. Each "'.^i ^^ 
department will be able to formulate a careful estimate of needed facilitated, 
appropriations, considering the relative demands of its several bureaus 
and services; and these departmental estimates will be compiled 
and analyzed by the state comptroller for submission to the Gover- 



494 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



An estimate 
of the 
economies 
expected. 



nor, who will recommend the aggregate budget of items approved 
by him to the General Assembly. This will place on the Governor 
the responsibility for the total amount requested. . . . 

To measure accurately in statistical and mathematical terms 
the expected improvements is more difficult than to point out the 
general results likely to be gained. But some estimates may be made 
of the direct financial advantages. The general plans of consolida- 
tion and reorganization will directly reduce expenditures for salaries 
and expenses of officials, and for office expenses by about $100,000 
a year. The saving proposed in the extension of taxes and the interest 
on tax collection will amount to $500,000 a year. ... If the con- 
solidation of prison management restolts in placing the cost of main- 
tenance on the same per capita basis as in the charitable institu- 
tions, there will be a further saving of $200,000 a year. The more 
centralized organization proposed for the rental and supervision of 
state offices and for printing and the purchase of supplies should 
also bring about a reduction in expenses of not less than $100,000 
a year. [Altogether the saving will not be less than $1,000,000 
a year.] . . . 



Previous to 
1 92 1 there 
was no 
Federal 
budget. 



The 

situation 

outlined. 



215. Need of a Federal budget^ 

Previous to 1921, our national government had no budget system. 
Some of the estimates were prepared by the administrative depart- 
ments, under the direction of the President, while other estimates 
were prepared by various committees in the House of Representatives. 
The evils of this situation were lack of responsibility and lack of 
coordination, resulting in waste and extravagance in the handling 
of Federal finances. The pressing need of a budget system was dwelt 
upon by President Taft in a message to Congress, in June, 191 2, 
in the following language: 

Notwithstanding the magnitude and complexity of the business 
which is each year conducted by the executive branch and financed 
by the Congress, and the vital relation which each governmental 
activity bears to the welfare of the people, there is at present no 
provision for reporting revenues, expenditures, and estimates for 
1 From William Howard Taft, Message to Congress, June, 191 2. 



HONESTY AND EFFICIENCY IN OFFICE 495 

appropriations in such manner that the Executive, before submit- 
ting estimates, and each member of Congress, and the people, after 
estimates have been submitted, may know what has been done by 
the government or what the government proposes to do. . . . 

A well-defined business or work program for the government has Lack of a 

not been evolved. ^^'"'^ 

program. 
The reports of expenditures required by law are unsystematic, Reports of 

lack uniformity of classification, and are incapable of being summa- e'^penditures 

_ are unsys- 

rized so as to give to the Congress, to the President, or to the people tematic. 
a picture of what has been done, and of cost in terms either of economy 
of purchase or efficiency of organization in obtaining results. 

The summaries of expenditures required by law to be submitted 
by the Secretary of the Treasury, with estimates, not only do not 
provide the data necessary to the consideration of questions of policy, 
but they are not summarized and classified on the same basis as the 
estimates. 

The report on revenues is not in any direct way related to the Report on 
expenditures, except as the Secretary of the Treasury estimates a '^';'^^'^"ss "ot 
surplus or a deficiency and this estimate is based on accounts which related to 
do not accurately show expenditures or outstanding liabilities to expenditures. 
be met. 

Instead of the President being made responsible for estimates Lack of 
of expenditures, the heads of departments and establishments are r^f-^°"^'" 
made the ministerial agents of the Congress, the President being 
called on only to advise the Congress how, in his opinion, expendi- 
tures may be reduced or revenues may be increased in case estimated 
expenditures exceed estimated revenues. . . . 

The committee organization is largely the result of historical The corn- 
development rather than of the consideration of present needs. '^^^^^^ 

system 

Inadequate provision is made for getting before each committee unable to 
to which appropriations are referred all of the data necessary for ^^"^''^ the 
the consideration of work to be done, organization provided for appropria- 



doing work, character of expenditures, or method of financing. 

Following the method at present prescribed, the estimates sub- 
mitted by each organization unit may have to be split up for con- 
sideration by appropriation committees of the Congress and be made 
the subject of several different bills; in few places are all of the esti- 



tions effec- 
tively. 



496 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



No correla- 
tion of rev- 
enues and 
appropria- 
tions. 

Conclusion. 



mates or appropriations asked for by a single organization unit 
brought together. . . . 

WhUe the classification and summaries of estimates do indicate 
a proposed method of financing, these summaries do not show classes 
of work or the character of expenditures provided for and there- 
fore can not lay the foundation for the consideration of methods 
of financing as a matter of governmental policy, as is contemplated 
under the Constitution. 

The appropriations are just as unsystematic and incapable of 
classification and summary as the estimates — in fact, follow the 
same general form, making it difficult and in many cases impossible 
to determine what class of work has been authorized, how much 
may be spent for each class, or the character of expenditures to be 
made. . . . 

Bills for appropriations are not considered by the committee to 
which measures for raising revenues and borrowing money are re- 
ferred, nor are revenues and borrowings considered by committees 
on appropriations in relation to the funds which will be available. 

So long as the method at present prescribed obtains, neither the 
Congress nor the country can have laid before it a definite under- 
standable program of business, or of governmental work to be 
financed; nor can it have a well-defined, clearly expressed financial 
program to be followed; nor can either the Congress or the Execu- 
tive get before the country the proposals of each in such manner 
as to locate responsibility for plans submitted or for results. . . . 



Rapid 

development 
of budget 
reform after 
I goo. 



216. Essentials of a good budget ^ 

The movement for budget reform in this country was rapid after 

1900. Almost all of the states now have some sort of a budget system. 

After a great deal of agitation the beginnings of a National budget 

have been provided for. In the spring of 1921 a biU establishing a 

budget system passed both houses of Congress, and on June 10, 

1 92 1, the bill became law by the signature of President Harding. 

These developments are encouraging, though it should be not for- 

1 From the Academy of Political Science, Proceedings, 1914-1915. New York, 
1915. Frederick A. Cleveland, "Constitutional Provision for a Budget"; pp. 
143-145- 



HONESTY AND EFFICIENCY IN OFFICE 497 

gotten that the estabhshment of a budget system does not mean 

that the arrangement is entirely satisfactory. Budgets must vary 

with different needs and circumstances, and yet the essentials are 

everywhere the same. These essentials Professor Frederick A. 

Cleveland, one of the leaders of budget reform in this country, 

describes as follows: 

Whatever else a budget is or is not, it must have these essentials: The two 

(i) It must be a definite plan or proposal for financing the present essentials of 

a budget, 
and future needs of the state; and (2) it must be submitted to a 

legislative body by an officer who may be held responsible for the 
wisdom or unwisdom of its proposals, i.e. it must serve as an in- 
strument through which both executive and legislative responsibil- 
ities to the electorate may be located and enforced. 

As it is of much importance that there be no question, in this dis- A budget 

cussion, with respect to what is meant by a budget, I shall be still s"°"'° 

contain 

more concrete and attempt to state what the bundle or bag full of 
papers referred to should be and contain. 

1. A budget should contain a summary statement, in the simplest a proposed 
possible terms, setting forth a proposed plan for financing next year's P^^'^ °^ 
requirements; and this statement should balance prospective re- next year's 
sources against estimates and requests for expenditures. requirements, 

2. A budget should be an instrument of accountability — a state- 
ment prepared by a responsible executive or administrative officer 
showing present financial conditions and past results. 

3. As an instrument of accountability and financial planning, 
a budget should contain (a) statements showing actual and estimated 
revenues and expenditures; {b) statements showing actual and esti- 
mated financial condition, surplus or deficit. 

4. Budget statements showing actual estimated revenues and adequate 

expenditures should provide all the information needed for considering ^formation 

concerning 

and determining executive recommendations, as well as legislative revenues and 
action, relative to money-raising policy; and executive recommenda- expenditures, 
tions, as well as legislative action, relative to money-spending policy. 

5. The budget information pertaining to estimated expenditures 
should be such as to support and explain items in the appropriation 
bill, if one is presented with the budget, or, if not, to enable the 
proper authorities to draw such a bill. 



498 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



and a 
" work 
program.' 



6. Since the amount of money to be voted for payrolls, supplies, 
etc., must be governed by work to be done, the budget should con- 
tain a well-defined "work program", . . setting forth what it is 
that the administration proposes to do with the supphes requested. 

7. The "work program" set forth in a budget should be in two 
parts — one which shows the necessary or proposed costs of rendering 
pubKc service, and one which shows the proposed costs of making 
pubhc improvements or betterments — i.e. current expenses and 
charges should be clearly distinguished from capital outlays. 

8. A budget should be transmitted as a part of a speech or message 
or letter from the responsible officer who prepared the plan or pro- 
gram interpreting the significance of the statement and estimates to 
the legislative body which is asked to pass on it. . . . 



Development 
of new types 
of city 
government 
after igoo. 



Has 

commission 
government 
made good? 



217. Results of the commission plan of government^ 

Turning now to the problem of honesty and efficiency in munici- 
pal government, it should be noted that there are three chief types 
of municipal government in this country: (a) the mayor-council 
plan, formerly universal and even now prevailing in most American 
cities; (6) the commission plan, first applied in 1900, by the city of 
Galveston, Texas; and (c) the city- manager plan, which is a modi- 
fication of the commission plan. One of the clearest and most judicial 
summaries of the commission plan is that by Professor Munro, in 
which he discusses the results of commission govermnent during the 
decade 1900-1910. He concludes as follows: 

When the agitation for the adoption of the commission plan took 
definite and forceful shape a half-dozen years ago, the sponsors of 
the scheme promised that it would bring about great improvement 
both in the personnel and in the work of city administration. How 
far have these promises been fulfilled? The experience that we have 
now put behind us is not extensive and varied enough to give an 
absolutely sure basis for broad generalization; yet the lapse of a 
decade has put some things to proof, and of these one may speak 
with reasonable assurance. 



^ From the National Municipal Review, Vol. i, No. 4, October, igi2. William 
Bennett Mmiro. "Ten Years of Commission Government"; pp. 563-568. 



HONESTY AND EFFICIENCY IN OFFICE 499 

In the first place, we were told at the outset that the commission Extent to 
plan would serve to install better men in municipal office. [As a ^ "^ 
matter of fact, about the same sort of men are connected with the public 
city administration as under the old mayor-council plan.] It can f^"^^'^*^ 
fairly be said, however, that while the change to commission govern- secured, 
ment has not revolutionized the type of official secured by the city, 
it has permitted men of the same caUbre to achieve vastly better re- 
sults. This it has done by the simplification of official machinery 
and by the concentration of responsibility in fewer hands. In a 
dozen or more cities the experience has been that a man who made 
a very ineffective alderman or councillor or administrative official 
under the old system of divided powers has succeeded in doing ex- 
cellent work as a commissioner under the new frame of government. 

In the second place the sponsors of the commission plan assured Commission 

us some years ago that their scheme of urban administration would go^^^rnment 

secure a reduction in municipal expenditures. On the whole the reduced the 

commission form of government has failed to do anything of the ^°^tof city 

./ o government. 

kind. . . . 

It is likewise to be feared that a good many commission governed A fallacy, 
cities have allowed themselves to be deluded into the idea that the 
mere establishment of the new framework of government sufficiently 
guarantees thorough improvements in the method of conducting 
public business. Some commission charters seem to have taken it 
for granted that any able-bodied citizen can be transformed into 
a municipal expert by the alchemy of a popular vote. Yet nothing 
can be plainer than the fact that a change from wasteful and slovenly 
to efficient business methods cannot be secured by the simple expedient 
of placing all responsibility in the hands of [a commission.] Com- 
mission charters have been too commonly deficient in the matter 
of definite provisions or expert advice. Their framers seem to for- 
get that the chief responsibility for success or failure in the proper 
conduct of the city's affairs must rest not upon the commissioners 
themselves but upon the municipal officials whom they employ. . . . 

These are some of the shortcomings which the experience of a 
decade discloses in the actual operation of the commission plan. 
They are not of great importance and all are easily capable of remedy. 
On the other hand, the system of government by commission has, 



500 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



On the 
other hand, 
many bene- 
fits have 
resulted 
from 

commission 
government. 



Summary 

and 

conclusion. 



as its sponsors promised it would do, put an end to that intolerable 
scattering of powers and duties and responsibilities which the old 
type of administration promoted to the point of absurdity. It has 
not freed city administration from all good ground for criticism. No 
system could do that, but it has brought things to such a pass that 
when administration is faulty there are definite shoulders upon which 
to lay the blame. . . . The plan has made possible the introduction 
of business methods in city administration, as the experience of at 
least a score of cities during the past half-dozen years amply 
proves. . . . 

As is too frequently the practice of those who stand sponsors for 
reform, the advocates of commission government have been disposed 
to promise more than their plan can expect permanently to achieve. 
To hope that this or any other system wUl prove a self-executing 
instrument of civic righteousness is to avow an optimism which shows 
scant knowledge of man as a political being. But under the com- 
mission plan many cities have secured a frame of government which 
the average voter can understand; and a government that is to be 
responsible to the people must first of all be intelligible to them. 
Not least among the accomplishments of the commission movement 
has been the fact that it linked itself with and drew into operation 
a dozen features that have helped to secure improvement in various 
branches of municipal administration, such as nomination by open 
primaries, the short ballot, the abolition of the ward system, direct 
legislation, the recall, the merit system of appointment and promotion, 
publicity in all municipal business, modern methods of city account- 
ing, and the concentration of responsibility for the improper expendi- 
ture of public money. As a protest against the old municipal regime 
it has been very effective; as a policy it has, despite its incidental 
shortcomings, fulfilled much of what its supporters claimed for it. 



218. Training the city manager 

After 1 9 14 the city manager form of municipal government was 
developed as a modification of the commission plan. Where the city 

1 From the National Municipal Review, Vol. ix, No. 3, March, 1920. Chester 
C. Maxey, "The Training of City Managers"; pp. 144-145. 



HONESTY AND EFFICIENCY IN OFFICE 501 

manager form is applied, there is provision for a small elective com- a great 
mission, which chooses an experienced executive to manage the city obst^''^cle to 

the success 
in accordance with business principles. One great difficulty, however, of the city 

has been the difficulty of finding properly qualified managers. Almost "|^"^pr 

three-fourths of the city managers in the United States a few years scarcity of 

ago were novices, yet the position demands a high degree of skill '^''Pcft 
" ^ J f 00 executives. 

and preparation. In the following passage Mr. Chester C. Maxey 
discusses the need for training city managers: 

The fact is that the problems of public administration are unique 
and call for a unique training. 

The city manager in order to superintend the complex affairs of What the 
a large city must not only possess unusual executive ability, but mu^t"kncnv^^ 
must be acquainted with public finance and accounting, and must 
have a working knowledge, from the administrative standpoint, of 
all of the functional activities of a city government. Most city 
managers have had to acquire this full-rounded training and experience 
after taking office, and the consequences have not always been happy. 

But if a manager is not to secure his training after taking office Necessity of 
and at the expense of the taxpayers, he must have the advantage of preliminary 
education for his special task. Such education has been very difficult "'^'"''^s- 
to secure, because most of the educational institutions which have 
offered courses preparing for city manager work have been unable 
to supplement their formal courses with practical experience. 

In this particular, the training school for pubhc service of the The New 
New York Bureau of Municipal Research is different. [This] is ^°* Bureau 

. . of Municipal 

primarily a research organization and the members of its staff devote Research. 

themselves principally to scientific studies and investigations in 
the field of public administration. Having surveyed over 100 cities 
in all parts of the country, a half-dozen counties in various states, 
and two states, the bureau has accumulated a vast store of infor- 
mation about the methods and technique of public instruction in 
the United States and has evolved standards for their betterment. 

The training school for public servants is conducted as a supple- How it 

mentary activity of the bureau in order that persons desiring to trains indi- 
viduals for 
prepare themselves for public work may profit by the experience of public work. 

the bureau and come into contact with specialists. The method 

of instruction in the training school is unusual. While formal lectures 



502 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



The course 
of study. 



Conclusion. 



and assignments of reading are not dispensed with, the students learn 
most by doing practical work under the supervision of members 
of the staff. When conditions permit, students preparing for execu- 
tive positions in pubUc life are taken into the field with members 
of the staff who are conducting surveys, and used in the less im- 
portant work of the survey. When administrative problems arising 
in connection with a particular piece of work are discussed in staff 
conferences, training school students are present to profit by the 
discussions and to participate in so far as they are qualified. Need- 
less to say, the student soon acquires a clearer conception of govern- 
ment as a going concern and a better grasp of the fundamental prin- 
ciples of management, than could be obtained by any amount of 
contact with books alone. And the natural consequence is that the 
students of the training school are apt to develop a practical sense 
and maturity of judgment that come from experience, as well as the 
background and vision that come from well-rounded study. 

Some conception of the character and scope of the city manager 
training may be had from the following list of the subjects included 
in the course of study: The structure and organization of municipal 
government; municipal charters; the relation of the city and the 
state; municipal home rule; statistics; civil service and salary stand- 
ardization; assessment and collection of taxes; debt policies and 
fund management; budget making and administration; government 
purchasing; government accounting; management of municipal 
public works; street cleaning, and refuse disposal; management 
of parks and playgrounds; public health administration; manage- 
ment of charitable and correctional institutions; police administra- 
tion; fire administration; municipal public utilities; management of 
public education. 

It is not contended that in this or any school city managers can 
be made to order, but only that the development of such schooling 
at New York and elsewhere is due to be an important factor in 
rounding out the success of the commission-manager movement. 



HONESTY AND EFFICIENCY IN OFFICE 503 

Questions on the foregoing Readings 

1. Name some factors which influence legislation in this country. 

2. To what extent is lack of responsibility an obstacle to intelligent 

legislation in this country? 

3. What two kinds of advice does the legislator need in lawmaking? 

4. What is meant by saying that lack of principle is a defect in 

American legislation? 

5. Where and when was the first legislative reference bureau es- 

tablished? 

6. What is the best way to improve legislation? 

7. What is the importance of a library in helping the lawmaker? 

8. Discuss the arrangement of documents, bills and other literature 

in a good legislative reference bureau. 

9. What qualities should be possessed by the head of a legislative 

reference bureau? 

10. What is the importance of a trained draftsman in legislation? 

11. Explain the lack of correlation in state administration. 

12. What is meant by the "ineffective supervision" in state adminis- 

tration ? 

13. Explain the charge that the confused character of the state admin- 

istrative offices often results in inadequate advice on legislation. 

14. How does irresponsible government result from a defective ar- 

rangement of state administrative ofhces? 

15. Explain how greater economy might be expected from a reorgan- 

ization and consolidation of state administrative offices. 

16. What would be the effect of such reorganization upon efficiency? 

17. How might such reorganization render possible greater assistance 

in legislation? 

18. How would such reorganization aid in securing responsible govern- 
* ment? 

19. Give some examples of the economies which the Illinois Efficiency 

and Economy Committee expected to result from a reorgan- 
ization of the state administration. 

20. How were financial estimates for the Federal administration 

prepared previous to 192 1? 

21. Show how Federal expenditures were unsystematic before 1921. 

22. What part did the committee system play in the handling of 

revenues and appropriations? 

23. What was President Taft's conclusion as to the situation existing 

in national finances in 191 1? 

24. During what period of our history was the movement for budget 

reform most active? 

25. Name the two essentials of a good budget. 



504 READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 

26. Outline some of the more important things which a budget should 

contain. 

27. What are the three chief forms of municipal government in the 

United States? 

28. To what extent has commission government secured better public 

service? 

29. Explain the error of supposing that good government may be 

secured merely by establishing a commission form of government. 

30. Name some important advantages of commission government. 

31. What is a great obstacle to the success of the city manager plan 

of government? 

32. How does the New York Bureau of Municipal Research train 

individuals for city manager positions? 

33. Name some of the courses of study at this institution. 



CHAPTER XXXVII 

THE EXTENSION OF POPULAR CONTROL 
219. Constitutional provision for direct legislation ^ 

A recent and important movement in American politics is that Popular 
which is concerned with the extension of popular control. Two '^^'^'^''o' 
methods of extending the direct control of the people over government 
are the Initiative and the Referendum, which, taken together, are 
known as Direct Legislation. Direct Legislation has been provided 
for in more than a third of the states, and in some of these by con- in Oklahoma- 
stitutional provision. Oklahoma, for example, entered the Union 
in 1907 with a constitution which contained the following provisions 
for the Initiative and the Referendum: 

Section i. The legislative authority of the state shall be vested Powers 
in a legislature, consisting of a senate and a house of representatives; '■^^<^''^^° ^'^ 
but the people reserve to themselves the power to propose laws and 
amendments to the constitution and to enact or reject the same at 
the polls independent of the legislature, and also reser\^e power at 
their own option to approve or reject at the poUs any act of the 
legislature. 

Section 2. The first power reserved by the people is the initiative, The 
and eight per centum of the legal voters shall have the right to pro- Initiative 
pose any legislative measure, and fifteen per centum of the legal 
voters shall have the right to propose amendments to the consti- 
tution by petition, and every such petition shall include the full 
text of the measure so proposed. 

The second power is the referendum, and it may be ordered (except and the 
as to laws necessary for the immediate preservation of the pubHc Referendum, 
peace, health, or safety), either by petition signed by five per centum 
of the legal voters or by the legislature as other bills are enacted. . . . 

Section 3. Referendum petitions shall be filed with the secretary 
1 From the Constitution of Oklahoma, 1907. 
505 



>o6 



RK\DixGs IX a:meric.\x DEM0CR-\CY 



Ruks gov- 
ernii^ Direct 
L^gislatiaQ. 



oa parts c^ 
an act. 



Tokos 
of tlie 

U^fJaliiiH. 



Protective 



of State not more than ninety days after the final adjotimment of 
the session of the legislamre which passed the bill on which the 
referenditm is demanded. The veto power of the Governor shall not 
extend to measm^es voted on by the people. All elections on measures 
referred to the people of the state shall be had at the nest election 
held throughout the state, except when the legislature or the Gover- 
nor shall order a sf)ecial election for the express purpose of makiTig 
such reference. An\- measiu-e referred to the people by the initiative 
shall take effect and be in force when it shall have been approved 
by a majority of the votes cast in such election. Any measure re- 
ferred to the people by the referendum sh all take effect and be in 
force when it shall have been approved by a majorit>- of the votes 
cast thereon and not otherwise. 

The st>ie of all bills shall be: '"Be It Enacted by the People of 
the State of Oklahoma. " 

Petitions and orders for the initiativ e and for the ref erendxmi shall 
be filed with the secretary of state and addressed to the Governor 
of the state, who shall submit the same to the people. The legisla- 
ture shall make suitable provisions for carrying into effect the pro- 
visions of this article. 

Section 4. The referendum may be demanded by the people against 
one or more items, sections, or parts of any act of the legislature 
in the same manner in which such power may be exercised against 
a complete act. The filing of a referendiun petition against one or 
more items, sections, or parts of an act shall not delay the remainder 
of such act from becoming operative. . . . 

Section 6. Any measure rejected by the i)eople, through the powers 
of the initiative and referendtun, cannot be again proposed by the 
initiative within three years thereafter by less than twent>'-five per 
caatum of the l^al voters. 

Section 7. The reservation of the powers of the initiative and ref- 
erendmn in this article shall not dq)rive the legislattire of the 
right to repeal any law, propc^e or pass any measure, which may 
be consistent with the constitution of the state and the Constitution 
of the United States. 

Section 8. Laws shall be provided to prevent corruption in making, 
procuring, and submitting initiative and referendimi petitions. 



THE EXTENSION OF POPULAR CONTROL 507 

220. Initiative and Referendum petitions ^ 

In every state in which the Initiative and Referendum are found, Protective 

laws have been enacted to regulate the application of these devices, '^s^s'^'^io" 

^^ accompany- 

The act passed by the legislature of Missouri in 1909 is typical, ing the Ini- 
This statute provided the forms of petition for the Referendum and ^^f^^ , 
Initiative, specified rules for the filing of these petitions, provided 
penalties for the violations of the act, and otherwise sought to safe- 
guard Direct Legislation. The forms of the Initiative and Referen- 
dum petitions, and the nature of the warning against their being ^^le 

fraudulently signed, are illustrated by the following extracts from Missouri 
. statute: 

the Missouri statute 01 1909: 

Section i. Form of petition to refer: The following shall be sub- 
stantially the form of petition for the referendum to the people on 
any act passed by the general assembly of the state of Missouri. 

It is a felony for any one to sign any initiative or referendum Warning 
petition with any name other than his own, or to sign knowingly his ^f afnres 
name more than once for the same measure, or to sign such petition 
when he is not a legal voter. 

Petition for Referendum Form 

To the Honorable , secretary of state for the state of , ,. 

Missouri: We, the undersigned, citizens and legal voters of the state jh^t a law 

of Missouri (and the county of ), respectfully order that the be referred 

senate (or house) bill No. . . . , entitled (title of act) passed by the to the 

general assembly of the state of Missouri at the regular ^'^^ " 

(special) session of said general assembly, shall be referred to the 
people of the state, for their approval or rejection, at the regular 

(special) election to be held on the . . . day of a.d. 19. ., 

and each for himself says: I have personally signed this petition; 

I am a legal voter of the state of Missouri and county of ; 

my residence and postoffice are correctly written after my name. 

Name , Residence , Postoftice 

(If in a city, street and number.) 

(Here follow numbered lines for signatures.) 

Section 2. Form of petition to initiate an act. — The following 
shall be substantially the form of petition for any law or amendment 
to the constitution of the state of Missouri, proposed by the initiative. 

' From the Statutes oj the State of Missouri, Initiative and Referendum Law, 1909. 



5o8 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Form 

used in 
initiating 
an act. 



Initiative Petition 

To the Honorable , secretary of state for the state of 

Missouri: 

We, the undersigned, citizens and legal voters for the state of 

Missouri, and of the county of , respectfully demand that 

the following proposed law (or amendment to the constitution, as the 
case may be), shall be submitted to the legal voters of the state of 
Missouri, for their approval or rejection, at the regular (special) election 

to be held on the day of A.D. 19 ... , and each 

for himself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a legal 

voter of the state of Missouri and of the county of ; my 

residence and postoffice are correctly written after my name. 

Name , Residence , Postoffice 

(If in a city, street and number.) 

(Here follow numbered lines for signatures.) 

Every such sheet for petitioners' signatures shall be attached to a 
full and correct copy of the title and text of the measure so proposed 
by the initiative petition. . . . 



Necessity of 
educating 
the voters 
who are to 
engage in 
Direct 
Legislation. 



The prepara- 
tion of the 
ballot title. 



221. Helping the voters to make laws^ 

One reason for the development of Direct Legislation has been 
the feeling that state legislatures are inefficient. But in so far as 
this inefficiency is due to the legislator's lack of training in technical 
matters, direct legislation is no remedy. Indeed, if the Initiative 
and Referendum are applied to complex and technical subjects, it 
may be that the voters will prove utterly incapable of an intelligent 
judgment. In the case of even relatively simple matters, more- 
over, an effective use of the Initiative and Referendum necessitates 
some preliminary education. The following extracts from the election 
laws of Oregon illustrate one method of attempting this education 
of the voters: 

Section 5. When any measure shall be filed with the secretary 
of state to be referred to the people of the state, or of any county 
or district composed of one or more counties, either by the legislative 
assembly or by the referendum petition, and when any measure 
shaU be proposed by initiative petition, the secretary of state shall 
forthwith transmit to the attorney-general of the state a copy 
1 From the Statutes of the State of Oregon, Election Law, 1907. 



THE EXTENSION OF POPULAR CONTROL 509 

thereof, and within ten days thereafter the attorney-general shall 
provide and return to the secretary of state a ballot title for said 
measure. . . . The ballot title shall be printed with the numbers of 
the measure, on the official ballot. In making such ballot the 
attorney-general shall, to the best of his ability, give a true and im- 
partial statement of the purpose of the measure, and in such lan- 
guage that the ballot title shall not be intentionally an argument, or 
likely to create prejudice, either for or against the measure. . . . 

Section 8. Not later than the first Monday of the third month next Printing 
before any regular general election, nor later than thirty days before f^^^^ distnbut- 
any special election, at which any proposed law, part of an act, arguments. 
or amendment to the constitution is to be submitted to the people, 
the secretary of state shall cause to be printed in pamphlet form a 
true copy of the title and text of each measure to be submitted, 
with the number and form in which the baUot title thereof will be 
printed in the official ballot. 

The person, committee, or duly authorized officers of any organi- 
zation filing any petition for the initiative, but no other person or 
organization, shall have the right to file with the secretary of state 
for printing and distribution any argument advocating such measure; 
said argument shall be filed not later than the first Monday of the 
fourth month before the regular election at which the measure is to 
be voted upon. Any person, committee, or organization may file 
with the secretary of state, for printing and distribution, any argu- 
ments they may desire, opposing any measure, not later than the 
fourth Monday of the fourth month immediately preceding such 
election. 

Arguments advocating or opposing any measures referred to the 
people by the legislative assembly, or by referendum petition, at a 
regular general election, shall be governed by the same rules as to 
time, but may be filed with the secretary of state by any person, 
committee, or organization; in the case of measures submitted at 
a special election, all arguments in support of such measure at least 
sixty days before such election. But in every case the person or per- 
sons offering such arguments for printing and distribution shall 
pay to the secretary of state sufficient money to pay all the expenses 
for paper and printing to supply one copy with every copy of the 



5IO 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Binding 
the meas- 
ures and 
arguments. 



The cost. 



Distribution 
of the 
pamphlets. 



measure to be printed by the state; and he shall forthwith notify 
the persons offering the same of the amount of money necessary. 

The secretary of state shall cause one copy of each of said argu- 
ments to be bound in the pamphlet copy of the measures to be sub- 
mitted as herein provided, and all such measures and arguments to 
be submitted at one election shall be bound together in a single pam- 
phlet. All the printing shall be done by the state. . . . The title 
page of every measure bound in said pamphlet shall show its ballot 
title and ballot numbers. The title page of each argument shall 
show the measure or measures it favors or opposes and by what 
persons or organisation it is issued. When such arguments are 
printed, he shall pay the state printer therefor from the money de- 
posited with him and refund the surplus, if any, to the parties who 
paid him. The cost of printing, binding, and distributing the meas- 
ures proposed, and of binding and distributing the arguments, shall 
be paid by the state as a part of the state printing, it being intended 
that only the cost of paper and printing the arguments shall be paid 
by the parties presenting the same, and they shall not be charged 
any higher rate for such work than is paid by the state for similar 
work and paper. 

Not later than the fifty-fifth day before the regular election at 
which such measures are to be voted upon, the secretary of state 
shall transmit by mail, with postage fully prepaid, to every voter 
in the state whose address he may have, one copy of such pam- 
phlet. ... In the case of a special election he shall mail said pamphlet 
to every voter not less than twenty days before said election. 



Growth of 
the Recall 
after igo3. 



222. Constitutional provision for the Recall^ 

The Initiative and the Referendum are the two most widespread 
forms of direct popular control; the third and less well-known form 
is the Recall. The Recall is a device whereby certain elective officials 
who, it is claimed, have not given satisfaction in office, may be required 
to stand for reelection before the end of their term. In its modem 
form the Recall was first used in 1903 in Los Angeles. The device 
has since been adopted in a number of states, chiefly in the West. 

1 From the Constitution of Arizona, 1910. 



THE EXTENSION OF POPULAR CONTROL 511 

The following extract from the constitution of Arizona illustrates 
the way in which a state may provide a constitutional basis for 
this form of popular control: 

Article VIII, Section i. Every public officer in the state of Every dec- 
Arizona, holding an elective office, either by election or appoint- f'^^. °^^^^ 

^ ^ in Arizona 

ment, is subject to recall from such office by the qualified electors subject to 

of the electoral district from which candidates are elected to such ^^^ Recall, 
office. Such electoral district may include the whole state. Such 
number of said electors as shall equal twenty-five per centum of the 
number of votes cast at the last preceding general election for all 
of the candidates for the ofiice held by such officer, may by petition, 
which shall be known as a Recall Petition, demand his recall. 

Section 2. Every Recall Petition must contain a general state- Nature of 

ment, in not more than two hundred words, of the grounds of such the Recall 

Petition, 
demand, and must be filed in the office in which petitions for nomi- 
nations to the office held by the incumbent are required to be filed. 
The signatures to such Recall Petition need not all be on one sheet 
of paper, but each signer must add to his signature the date of his 
signing said petition, and his place of residence, giving his street 
and number, if any, should he reside in a town or city. One of the 
signers of each sheet of such petition, or the person circulating such 
sheet, must make and subscribe an oath on said sheet, that the sig- 
natures thereon are genuine. 

Section 3. If said officer shall offer his resignation it shall be ac- The Recall 
cepted, and the vacancy shall be filled as may be provided by law. Ejection. 
If he shall not resign within five days after a Recall Petition is filed, 
a special election shall be ordered to be held, not less than twenty, 
nor more than thirty days after such order, to determine whether 
such officer shall be recalled. On the ballots at said election shall 
be printed the reasons as set forth in the petition for demanding his 
recaU, and, in not more than two hundred words, the officer's justifi- 
cation of his course in office. He shall continue to perform the duties 
of his office until the result of said election shall have been officially 
declared. 

Section 4. Unless he otherwise request, in writing, his name shall The result 

be placed as a candidate on the official ballot without nomination. , . 
^ _ election. 

Other candidates for the office may be nominated to be voted for 



512 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



at said election. The candidate who shall receive the highest number 
of votes, shall be declared elected for the remainder of the term. 
Unless the incumbent receive the highest number of votes, he shall 
be deemed to be removed from office, upon qualification of his suc- 
cessor. In the event that his successor shall not qualify within 
five days after the result of said election shall have been declared, 
the said office shall be vacant, and may be filled as provided by law. 
Section 5. No Recall Petition shall be circulated against any 
officer until he shall have held his office for a period of six months, 
except that it may be filed against a member of the Legislature at any 
time after five days from the beginning of the first session after his 
election. After one Recall Petition and election, no further Recall 
Petition shall be filed against the same officer during the term for which 
he was elected, unless petitioners signing such petition shaU first pay 
into the public treasury which has paid such election expenses, 
all expenses of the preceding election. 
Section 6. The general election laws shall apply to recall elec 
of the general j-jQj^g jj^ gQ fg^j. ^^ applicable. Laws necessary to facilitate the opera- 
tion of the provisions of this article shall be enacted. . . . 



Limitations 
upon the 
power to 
recall. 



Application 
of thegenei 
election laws, 



The Recall 
in practice. 



Industrial 
disorder 
sets a Recall 
Petition 
in motion. 



223. An example of how the Recall is used^ 

A satisfactory decision upon the merits of the Recall is difficult 
because it is so recent a development, and stiU so little used, that 
few data are available. The state-wide Recall has been in existence 
for more than a decade, yet few state officials have bean removed 
by it. There are more cases in which the Recall has been used 
against municipal officials, though not always wisely and not always 
with success. In the following selection, Mr. F. M. Shannonhouse 
describes the use of the Recall in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1919: 

[In the summer of 191 9 a street car strike developed in Charlotte. 
On one occasion] mobs aU over the city, composed of delegations from 
the various cotton mills, stoned the cars and engaged in other law- 
lessness. The police force remained practically inactive. The day 
the cars stopped, and the disorders above mentioned occurred, Mon- 



* From the National Municipal Review, Vol. ix, No. i, January, 1920. 
Shannonhouse, "How the Recall Worked in Charlotte"; pp. 4-5. 



F. M. 



THE EXTENSION OF POPULAR CONTROL 513 

day, August 25, numbers of reputable citizens signed the petition for 
a Recall [against the mayor] and others threatened to sign unless 
order was maintained. [That night a mob gathered in front of the 
car barns, held a conference], and voted to enter the car barn and 
"get" the strike breakers. Upon approaching the barn a shot was 
fired — the mob claims by chief of police, the policemen claim by a 
member of the mob — immediately followed by promiscuous shooting, 
resulting in five of the mob being killed and twenty or thirty others 
being wounded. 

Peace, long delayed, reigned. Immediately the demand for the Re- 
call was taken by the mob, and a large portion of union labor. . , . 
A committee nominated officers to run on the Recall Petition. . . . 

The recall candidate for mayor made the issue the unlawful shoot- The result, 
ing at the car barn. The attitude of a large number who had origi- 
nally signed the recall petition suddenly reversed. Our newspapers 
and citizens, neutral so far as unionism was concerned, accepted the 
issue, waged a fight and defeated the Recall Petition by a vote of 
3,300 to 1,900, the biggest election ever held in the city. 

It was not a question of candidates. It was simply a question of Significance 
enforcement of the law for the present and the future. The city 
commissioners, unionists and all others have learned where this 
community stands on that issue. 

While the Recall is condemned by a great many, it is the opinion of the Recall 
of many familiar with the apathy and indifference on the part of a ^^^<^*^^°°' 
majority of the citizens that the Recall Election led to a campaign of 
education and action absolutely necessary and essential to head off 
a rapidly growing spirit of bolshevism, class autocracy and pohtical 
chaos such as would have led to results unknown. . . . 

The Recall rendered an invaluable service under our most try- 
ing conditions, and amply justified its inclusion in our charter. 
Present and new conditions make necessary some proper agency for 
the majority to ascertain immediately where they stand, and whether 
or not the majority shall rule, and particularly so when the city 
government is committed to the hands of three or a few men with 
full legislative and executive authority. 

The Recall Election brought out one thousand to fifteen hun- Conclusion. 
dred more voters than ever voted before in a city election, because 



514 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



it was not "politics." It was law, order, security, life for all — the 
union man and the non-union man. The fire was quenched instead 
of being allowed to smoulder for months awaiting a regular election, 
while the peripatetic agitator and selfish and unscrupulous office 
seeker would have fanned the flame of hatred and discontent in the 
community by his misrepresentations. 



The Initia- 
tive, the 
Referendum, 
and the 
Recall are 
relatively 
little used. 



Popular 
control in 
Alabama, 

California, 
Illinois, 
Iowa, 
Kansas, 

Montana, 



224. Popular control chiefly a threat^ 

The Initiative, the Referendum, and the Recall are seldom used 
in most of the cities and states which have provided for these forms 
of direct popular control. In an investigation conducted by him a 
few years ago, Dr. Charles F. Taylor found that of 197 municipalities 
which had provided for the Initiative, the Referendum and the 
Recall, 137 had not used any of these devices. It is true, of course, 
that these measures may be more valuable in their existence than 
in their use, that is to say, they may be of service by inducing a 
keen sense of duty and responsibility in the minds of officials, with- 
out, however, requiring actual use. The following summaries by 
Dr. Taylor illustrate something of the degree to which these three 
measures of popular control have been used: 

Birmingham, Ala. (April, 191 1.) Has used the referendum twice: 
January, 1912, electric light contract; September, 1912, water con- 
tract. In both instances contracts were annulled. 

Santa Cruz, Cal. (February, 1911.) Initiative: May 6, 1913. 
Liquor license ordinance; rejected. 

Moline, III. (April, 1911.) Initiative: July 23, 1912. Telephone 
franchise; "carried by large majority." 

MarshalUown, Iowa. One attempt has been made to recall the 
mayor: failed. 

Pratt, Kan. Referendum: July, 1913, fixing electric light rates. 
"Ordinance 'knocked out.'" Recall: September, 1913, unsuccessful 
attempt to recall the mayor. 

Missoula, Mont. (July, 1911.) Initiative: General election, 1912, 

on question of closing saloon on Sundays; carried. 

1 From the National Municipal Review, Vol. m, No. 4. October. 1914. Charles 
F. Taylor, "Municipal Initiative, Referendum and Recall in Practice"; pp, 695- 
700. 



THE EXTENSION OF POPULAR CONTROL 515 

Ocean City, N. J. " Have had the initiative and referendum invoked New Jersey, 
a number of times, possibly two each, with satisfactory restilts. 
No recalls have been made or attempted. " 

Greensboro, N.C. (March, 191 1.) Initiative, 191 1; establishment North 
of a municipally owned and operated meat market, the city to buy ^^.rolina, 
and sell meat; defeated. 

Mandan, N.D. Recall: One unsuccessful attempt. North Dakota, 

Bartlcsvillc, Okla. (August, 1910.) Recall: September 14, 1911. Oklahoma, 
Attempt to recall mayor and two city commissioners. Failed on 
account of insufficiency of petition. 

Portland, Ore. (1903.) [The Initiative and the Referendum have Oregon, 
been used rather freely, and on the whole successfully.] 

Dallas, Texas. (April, 1907.) [The Initiative, the Referendum Texas, 
and the Recall have been used rather freely.] 

Hoquiam, Wash. (August, 191 1.) Recall: April 24, 191 2. Mayor Washington, 

recalled on the charge of incompetency. 

Oshkosh, Wis. Referendum: Fall of 191 2, general election. Shall ^^^ 

... , , . Wisconsin 

city own water works? carried by an overwhelming majority. . . . 

We see in this review a safe, healthy and commendable exercise of Conclusion. 

direct powers of the voters in the public affairs of municipalities. 

These powers have not been abused, as is plainly seen by the large 

number of municipalities which have these powers, but which have 

never used them; and in the fact that in no place has their use been 

"cranky" or excessive. These powers have been used rather freely 

in Portland, Oregon, and in Dallas, Texas, but we have no evidence 

that there is any sentiment in these places for the abolition of these 

powers on account of their somewhat free use. On the contrary, we 

may reasonably assume that the use of these powers is an evidence 

of their appreciation — when there is occasion for their use. ... 



Questions on the foregoing Readings 

1. What is meant by Direct Legislation? 

2. What provision for the Initiative is contained in the constitution 

of Oklahoma? 

3. What does this constitution say concerning the Referendum? 

4. What are some of the ways in which statutes may regulate the 

use of the Initiative and Referendum? 



5i6 READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 

S- What does the Missouri law have to say concerning false signatures 
to Initiative and Referendum petitions? 

6. Describe the form of petition for Referendum in Missouri. 

7. Describe the form of petition used in the case of the Initiative. 

8. Why is it necessary to help the voters in the work of Direct 

Legislation? 

9. Describe the printing, and distribution to the voters of Oregon, 

of literature on measures to be submitted to them. 

10. Who bears the cost of printing, binding, and distributing this 

literature? 

11. When is this literature distributed? 

12. What officers are subject to recall in Arizona? 

13. What is the nature of the Recall Petition in Arizona? 

14. Describe a Recall Election in Arizona. 

15. What limitations does the constitution of Arizona place upon 

the use of the Recall in that state? 

16. Describe the use of the Recall in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 

1919. 

17. What is meant by saying that the Initiative, Referendum and 

Recall may be more valuable in their existence than in their 
use? 

18. Give some examples of the use of these measures of popular 

control in various states. 

19. What is Dr. Taylor's conclusion as to the facts brought out in 

this review? 



CHAPTER XXXVIII 

PUBLIC OPINION 

225. The origin of our personal opinions^ 

It is a trite but significant statement that the conduct of the citizen Our actions 
in the affairs of private and pubUc life will be determined largely by i^g^^gQ^-e^ 
the beliefs and opinions which he holds. The nature of these beliefs by personal 
and opinions will depend upon his early environment, his training, ^pj^^j^*^^ 
the type of persons and institutions with which he comes in contact, 
and his habits as an independent thinker. Because of the domina- 
tion of opinion over the actions of the individual, it becomes neces- 
sary to inquire into the means by which we acquire our personal 
opinions. This question is discussed by President Lowell in the fol- 
lowing passage: 

We are constantly told to-day how small a part of our actions are Many of 
the result of our own reasoning, how small a proportion of opinion °"J takTn""^ 
is personal, how much of it is taken from others in whole or in part from others, 
ready-made. 

The history of rehgious bodies shows that with the vast majority Some 
of men creeds are inherited; or, to speak more strictly, accepted on 
the suggestion and authority of parents and teachers. It is incredible 
that if everyone really thought out his beUefs for himself religious 
lines would remain from generation to generation so little changed 
as they have, for example, among the Catholics and Protestants 
in Switzerland. ... In fact it would be safe to assert as a general 
rule that the members of every church have accepted its dogmas 
because they belonged to it, quite as much as they have clung to the 
church on account of a belief in its creed. Nor is this less true of other 
spheres of thought. It is manifestly the case in poUtics, where party 

1 From A. Lawrence Lowell, Public Opinion and Popular Government. Longmans, 
Green and Co., New York, 1913; pp. 16-18, 22-24. 

517 



illustrations. 



5i8 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



We often 
act upon 
suggestions 
without 
being aware 
of their 
origin. 



The origin 
of our 
beliefs as to 
fundamental 
political 
principles. 



But some 
opinions 
require a 
personal 
judgment 
of facts. 



affiliations have no less influence in fixing the principles of men, than 
the principles have in determining the membership of the parties. 

Opinions may, of course, be adopted by conscious submission to 
the authority of someone who is better informed; and Sir George 
Cornewall Lewis points out that in such a case "The choice of a guide 
is as much a matter of free determination, as the adoption of an opinion 
on argumentative grounds." But he does not appear to have per- 
ceived to how small an extent the selection of a guide is in fact 
deliberate or even conscious. In most of the affairs of life we are 
constantly acting upon suggestions without being aware of their 
origin, or indeed of the fact that we did not frame our conclusions 
unaided. . ._ . 

A belief, although adopted on suggestion or authority without 
mature consideration, may nevertheless be a real opinion and not a 
mere prejudice or meaningless impression ; for the line between what 
is opinion and what is not is by no means the same as the line between 
what is personally thought out, or consciously rational, and what 
comes in other ways. The bulk of every community accepts without 
adequate reasoning all its fundamental political principles, such as 
a belief in monarchy or in a federal system of government, in uni- 
versal suffrage, in trial by jury, and in many other things that the 
people of a country habitually assume as axioms. . . . 

A conviction, therefore, formed because it is in accord with a code 
of beliefs already in the mind is properly classed as an opinion; 
but many of the problems that arise in politics, as in the other affairs 
of life, cannot be solved in this way. They do not present a question 
of harmony with accepted principles, but the application of an 
accepted principle to a particular case, or the means to be adopted 
in attaining an end universally desired; and these things usually 
require for their determination a considerable knowledge of the sub- 
ject matter. . . . [For example,] it is generally admitted that chil- 
dren should be educated for their duties in hfe at the public expense. 
To what extent are the studies leading to a general education and 
to what extent are manual and industrial training best adapted to that 
end? On problems of this kind an opinion worthy of the name can- 
not be formed without both a process of reasoning and, what is far 
more difficult, the command of a number of facts. • . . 



PUBLIC OPINION 519 

In order, therefore, thai there may be a real PubUc Opmion on any Conditions 

subject, not involving a simple question of harmony or contradiction f^^'^'^^^^g^j 

with settled convictions, the bulk of the people must be in a position Public 
to determine of their own knowledge, or by weighing evidence, a P""°°- 
substantial part of the facts required for a rational decision. 

226. The importance of talk ^ 
In order that individuals may acquire ideas from one another, Social 

or influence the judgments of one another, it is necessary that they '-°'^ ^^ 

■" ° ^ ' ... necessary to 

come into social contact. So fa'r as the formation of public opinion the forma- 
is concerned, this social contact is mainly through the medium of p°^,-** 
talking or wtiting. A cornerstone of self-government is freedom of Opinion, 
assemblage, of speech, and of the press, for neither self-govern- 
ment nor the formation of sound Public Opinion is possible unless 
people are allowed to talk. The importance of talk is developed in 
the following passage by Edwin Lawrence Godkin: 

[^The] extension of the powers and functions of government makes Importance 

more necessary than ever a free expression of opinion, and especially ° ^ ^^^ 
•' ^ f t- J expression 

of educated opinion. We may rail at "mere talk" as much as we of opinion, 
please, but the probability is that the affairs of nations and of men 
will be more and more regulated by talk. 

The amount of talk which is expended on all subjects of human Volume of 
interest — and in "talk" I include contributions to periodical litera- t^ ' ^.t t e 

^ present 

ture — is something of which a previous age has had the smallest time. 

conception. Of course it varies infinitely in quality. A very large 

proportion of it does no good beyond relieving the feelings of the 

talker. Political philosophers maintain, and with good reason, that 

one of its greatest uses is keeping down discontent under popular 

government. It is undoubtedly true that it is an immense relief to a 

man wdth a grievance to express his feelings about it in words, even 

if he knows that his words will have no immediate effect. Self-love 

is apt to prevent most men from thinking that anything they say 

with passion or earnestness will utterly and finally fail. But still 

it is safe to suppose that one-half of the talk of the world on subjects 

of general interest is waste. 

* From Edwin Lawrence Godkin, Problems of Modern Democracy. Charles 
Scribner's Sons, New York, 1896; pp. 221-224. 



520 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Probably 
one-half of 
the talk 
of the world 
is wasted, 
but the other 
half counts. 



Some 
examples. 



Everything 
that is said 
has some 
effect. 



But the other half certainly tells. We know this from the change 
in ideas from generation to generation. We see that opinions which 
at one time everybody held became absurd in the course of half a 
century — opinions about religion and morals and manners and 
government. Nearly every man of my age can recall old opinions 
of his own, on subjects of general interest, which he once thought 
highly respectable, and which he is now ashamed of having ever 
held. He does not remember when he changed them, or why, but 
somehow they have passed away from him. 

In communities these changes are* often very striking. The trans- 
formation, for instance, of the England of CromweU into the England 
of Queen Anne, or of the New England of Cotton Mather into the New 
England of Theodore Parker and Emerson, was very extraordinary, 
but it would be very difficult to say in detail what brought it about, 
or when it began. Lecky has some curious observations, in his 
History of Rationalism on these silent changes in new behefs apropos 
of the disappearance of the beUef in witchcraft. Nobody could 
say what had swept it away, but it appeared that in a certain 
year people were ready to burn old women as witches, and a few 
years later were ready to laugh at or pity any one who thought old 
women could be witches. . . . 

The belief in witchcraft may perhaps be considered a somewhat 
violent illustration, like the change in public opinion about slavery 
in this country. But there can be no doubt that it is talk — some- 
body's, anybody's, everybody's talk — by which these changes are 
wrought, by which each generation comes to feel and think differently 
from its predecessor. No one ever talks freely about anything with- 
out contributing something, let it be ever so little, to the unseen forces 
which carry the race on to its final destiny. Even if he does not make 
a positive impression, he counteracts or modifies some other impres- 
sion, or sets in some train of ideas in some one else, which helps to 
change the face of the world So I shall, in disregard of the great 
laudation of silence which filled the earth in the days of Carlyle, say 
that one of the functions of an educated man is to talk, and, of course, 
he should try to talk wisely. 



PUBLIC OPINION 521 

227. The influence of the leader ^ 

Where individuals habitually come in contact with one another, The influ- 
there is a constant stream of talk. Ideas are interchanged, questions f^^^ . ,'"'^" 

, in social 

are asked and answered, there are attempts at persuasion and resist- intercourse 

ance, accusations are made and denunciations are returned. But ^^"^^• 
in this complex of social intercourse, all men are not alike. Some say 
little and think less; some are timid, others are aggressive and vol- 
uble. And though communities vary, there is everywhere a tendency 
among men to be dominated by natural leaders, to follow the strong. The leader. 
the self-assured, and the aggressive. Leadership is an important 
factor in the formation of Public Opinion, as Professor Cooley points 
out in the following selection: 

If we ask what are the mental traits that distinguish a leader, A leader 
the only answer seems to be that he must, in one way or another, "^"^* ^^ f 
be a great deal of a man, or at least appear to be. He must stand for of a man. 
something to which men incline, and so take his place by right as a 
focus of their thought. 

Evidently he must be the best of his kind available. It is impos- He must be 

sible that he should stand forth as an archetype, unless he is con- ^^I,°"S, 

•^ '^ affirmative, 

ceived as superior, in some respect, to all others within range of the and superior 
imagination. Nothing that is seen to be second-rate can be an ideal; 
if a character does not bound the horizon at some point we will look 
over it to what we can see beyond. The object of admiration may be 
Caesar Borgia, or Napoleon, or Jesse James the train-robber, but he 
must be typical, must stand for something. No matter how bad the 
leader may be, he will always be found to owe his leadership to some- 
thing strong, affirmative, and superior, something that appeals to 
onward instinct. 

To be a great deal of a man, and hence a leader, involves, on the The leader 
one hand, a significant individuality, and, on the other, breadth of '""^'^ possess 
sympathy, the two being different phases of personal calibre, rather 
than separate traits. 

It is because a man cannot stand for anything except as he has a self-reliance, 

significant individuahty, that self-reliance is so essential a trait in 

leadership: except as a person trusts and cherishes his own special 

' From Charles Horton Cooley, Human Nature and the Social Order. Charles 
Scribner's Sons, New York, 1902; pp. 293-297, 310. 



522 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



and breadth 
of sympathy. 



Qualities 
of a man 
who can 
dominate 
the minds 
of others 
in a crisis. 



The first 
requisite 
of a leader 
is, not to be 
right, but 
to show 
the way. 



tendency, different from that of other people and usually opposed 
by them in its inception, he can never develop anything of peculiar 
value. He has to free himself from the domination of purposes already 
defined and urged upon him by others, and bring up something fresh 
out of the vague underworld of subconsciousness; and this means 
an intense self, a militant, gloating "I." Emerson's essay on self- 
reliance only formulates what has always been the creed of significant 
persons. 

On the other hand, success in unfolding a special tendency and 
giving vogue to it, depends upon being in touch, through sympathy, 
with the current of human life. All leadership takes place through the 
communication of ideas to the minds of others, and unless the ideas 
are so presented as to be congenial to those other minds, they will 
evidently be rejected. It is because the novelty is not alien to us, 
but is seen to ourself in a fresh guise, that we welcome it. . . . 

The man of action who, like Napoleon, can dominate the minds of 
others in a crisis, must have the general traits of leadership developed 
with special reference to the promptness of their action. His individ- 
ual significance must take the form of a palpable decision and self- 
confidence; and breadth of sympathy becomes a quick tact to grasp 
the mental state of those with whom he deals, so that he may know 
how to plant the dominating suggestion. Into the vagueness and 
confusion that most of us feel in the face of a strange situation, such 
a man injects a clear-cut idea. There is a definiteness about him which 
makes us feel that he will not leave us drifting, but will set a course, 
will substitute action for doubt, and give our energies an outlet. 
Again, his aggressive confidence is transmitted by suggestion, and 
acts directly upon our minds as a sanction of his leadership. And 
if he adds to this the tact to awaken no opposition, to make us feel 
that he is of our sort, that his suggestions are quite in our Hne, in a 
word that we are safe in his hands; he can hardly be resisted. . . . 

Another phase of the same truth is the ascendancy that persons of 
belief and hope always exercise as against those who may be superior 
in every other respect, but who lack these traits. The onward and 
aggressive portion of the world, the people who do things, the young 
and all having surplus energy, need to hope and strive for an imagi- 
native object, and they will follow no one who does not encourage 



PUBLIC OPINION 523 

this tendency. The first requisite of a leader is, not to be right, but 
to lead, to show a way. The idealist's programme of political or 
economic reform may be impracticable, absurd, demonstrably ridicu- 
lous; but it can never be successfully opposed merely by pointing out 
that this is the case. A negative opposition cannot be wholy effectual: 
there must be a competing idealism; something must be offered 
that is not only less objectionable but more desirable, that affords 
occupation to progressive instinct. 



228. The merits of Public Opinion^ 

Public Opinion is admittedly a powerful and pervading influence. The merits 

If we go beyond this general statement, however, we come to a some- of Public 

what complicated situation. Public Opinion is powerful, but some- Opinion as a 

... r ^ • • 1 r- • Hieans of 

times It reacts to the mjury 01 the community instead of to its social 
benefit. Public Opinion has important merits; on the other hand, control, 
it has serious defects. Let us begin a brief analysis of the subject 
by seeing what are the substantial merits of Public Opinion. These Its merits: 
Lord Bryce outHnes as follows: 

Now let us . . . compare the influence upon the conduct of public The action 
affairs which is called, somewhat loosely, the rule of PubHc Opinion, ° public 

Opinion IS 

with the direct control exerted by the citizens when they vote either continuous, 
on a question submitted (Referendum) or for a candidate. The \ 

voting 

action of opinion is continuous, that of voting occasional, and in the occasional. 

intervals between the elections of legislative bodies changes may take 

place materially affecting the views of the voters. ... At elections 

it is for a candidate that votes are given, and as his personality or 

his local influence may count for more than his principles, the choice 

of one man against another is an imperfect way of expressing the 

mind of a constituency. . . . 

The result of an election may be determined by the action of an 
insignificant knot of voters specially interested in a question of slight 
importance. Anti-vaccinationists, or a few dozens of government 
employees demanding higher wages, have thus turned elections in 
English boroughs where parties were of nearly equal strength. . . . 



• From James Bryce, Modern Democracies. The Macmillan Company, New 
York, 1921. Vol. I, pp. 158-161. 



524 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



The merits 
of Public 
Opinion 
summed up. 



Public 
Opinion 
contrasted 
with voting 
in these 
respects. 



The relation 
of PubUc 
Opinion to 
voting. 



A large percentage of the votes are given with little reference to the 
main issues involved. It is the business of the managers to "froth 
up" party feeUng and make excitement do the work of reason. 

In all the points just enumerated Public Opinion, when and in so 
far as it can be elicited, is an organ or method through which the 
people can exert their power more elastic and less pervertible than 
is the method of voting. It is always operative; its action changes 
as the facts of the case change and keeps pace with them. It sets the 
larger and the smaller issues in their true perspective. It reduces 
petty "fads" or selfish groups to insignificance. It reUes, not on 
organization and party drill, but on the good sense and fairness of 
the citizens as a whole. It expresses what is more or less thought and 
felt in all the parties by their more temperate and unbiased members. 
It is a counterpoise to the power of mere numbers. 

At a poll one vote is as good as another, the ignorant and unre- 
flecting counting for as much as the well-informed and wise, but in 
the formation of opinion knowledge and thought tell. The clash 
and conflict of argument bring out the strength and weakness of every 
case, and that which is sound tends to prevail. Let the cynics say 
what they will, man is not an irrational animal. Truth usually wins 
in the long run, though the obsessions of self-interest or prejudice 
or ignorance may long delay its victory. . . . Voting, though indis- 
pensable as a means of determining the view of the majority, is a 
mechanical operation, necessarily surrounded with legal forms, while 
in the formation and expression of opinion the essential spirit of 
democracy rises above the machinery and the trammels which machin- 
ery imposes, and finds a means of applying its force more flexible, 
more delicate, more conciliatory and persuasive than is a decision 
given by the counting of votes. 

Voting, I repeat, is indispensable, for it is positive, giving an incon- 
trovertible result. But voting is serviceable just in proportion as 
it has been preceded and prepared by the action of Public Opinion. 
The discussion which forms opinion by securing the due expression 
of each view or set of views so that the sounder may prevail enables 
the citizens who wish to find the truth and follow it to deliver a con- 
sidered vote. It is an educative process constantly in progress. 
In the intervals between elections it imposes some check on the vehe- 



PUBLIC OPINION 525 

mence of party spirit and the recklessness or want of scruple of party 
leaders, and restrains the disposition of party government to abuse 
its power. When a ministry or legislature feels the tide of opinion 
beginning to run against some of their purposes they pause. . . . 
Many a plan has been abandoned without any formal declaration of 
popular disapproval because disapproval was felt to be in the air. 



229. The defects of Public Opinion ^ 

In the above selection the merits of Public Opinion are set forth Professor 



Ross on 
the defects 



by one of the most able statesmen of the present generation. In 
comparing the ballot with Public Opinion he concludes that as a of Public 
form of social control the latter has many advantages over the ^P^^'^i^- 
former. Let us notice, now, that as a form of social control Public 
Opinion is in several important respects inferior to law. Professor 
Ross discusses the defects of Public Opinion as follows: 

[The penalties which Public Opinion imposes for mis-conduct] The penal- 
are not definite, and not proportioned to the gravity of the offence. H'^^p y-'^ 
No member of the public knows just how much praise or blame, Opinion are 
warmth or chill, others are applying. Moreover, systematic inquisi- 'J^''^ .^"^ 
tion into guilt or merit, with observance of the rules of evidence proportioned 
and due deliberation, is impossible with the public, for it does not ^° * .f , 

^ . gravity of 

function as does a court. It merely reacts. From this fact arise the the offense. 

many injustices and mistakes which weaken the authority of Public 

Opinion. 

Again, to utilize the temper of the community, it is necessary The public 

to strike while the iron is hot. The ministers of the law, if they have ^^,f ^ "[* 

■^ wrath and 

a slow foot, have a firm clutch and, like the gods, are known by their a poor 
long memories. But the public has a short wrath and a poor memory, '"^'"o''y- 
and the offender, if he dodges into obscurity, and waits till the gust 
of pubHc indignation is over, often goes unpunished. 

As there is only one law in force at any one time, there can be no it is rarely 
clashing of jurisdictions. But the public is rarely unanimous, and "i^^'^^ous. 
Public Opinion often clashes with the sentiment of a sect, party, or 
class. In a homogeneous community, people are able to feel and think 

> From Edward Alsworth Ross, Social Control. The Macmillan Company, 
New York, 192 1; pp. 96-97, 99-101. 



526 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



The result. 



Public 
Opinion is 
powerless 
when the 
responsibility 
for an act 
cannot be 
localized. 



The public 
is moved 
and influ- 
enced by 
instincts 
which 
cannot be 
trusted to 
guide or 
control 
modem 
society. 



alike in all important cases, and hence Public Opinion is effective; 
but in a stratified community, the separation of classes hinders an 
easy conduction of feeling. Here, then, an offender escapes the lower- 
ing glances and bitter words of his fellows by taking refuge in circles 
where his fault is condoned. The bruiser dives into the sporting 
class, the duellist haunts the mess-room, the ballot sharp takes refuge 
with his political friends, the snob shuts himself away from popular 
derision in a social club. This right of asylum with complaisant coteries 
is a very grave thing, for it often transforms an act of punishment 
into a class war, and rends the community in twain. . . , 

The might of public wrath is destroyed by anything that diverts 
it from an individual and spreads ii harmlessly over a network of 
administrative responsibility. The common indignation, always con- 
fused by a shifting responsibility, is most baffled when responsibility 
on being traced back is found to be lodged in a body of men. It is 
this fact that accounts for the increasing disregard of Public Opinion 
in the management of business. Corporate organization opposes 
to public fury a cuirass of divided responsibility that conveys away 
harmlessly a shock that might have stretched iniquity prone. . . . 
In such cases public indignation must be given an arm to strike and 
hurt with, if it is not to become mere impotent rage. [This truth is 
overlooked by those who] ignorantly extol the might of Public 
Opinion in all cases whatsoever. ... 

While the irascible instincts were given to man to fit him for the 
struggle for existence as it was ages ago, nothing is surer than that 
to-day they are utterly unsafe to follow. . . . The first impulsive 
reactions of the public have almost nothing to do with social wel- 
fare. It does not like unselfish devotion nor does it detest brazen 
egotism. High on the crest of popular idolatry, the jockey, the 
bruiser, and the soubrette share the honors with the soldier, the 
patriot, and the philanthropist. The public is enraged at vivisection 
or grave-robbing. It is flaccid before bribery, breaking quarantine, 
the adulteration of drugs, or the plugging of armor plate. People 
react most against that which shocks their instincts, . . . but these 
offences being contrary to deep-seated instincts are just those which 
are least liable to spread and threaten the life of society. Light 
shines first on the few, and the public is the last to apprehend the 



PUBLIC OPINION 527 

real bearing and ultimale results of conduct. The handful of thought- 
ful men penalize forest-firing and the selling of explosive oil, and the 
killing of game out of season, while yet the senseless mob is gnashing 
its teeth at vaccinators and body snatchers. . . . 

In certain directions . . . unenlightened Public Opinion pushes Unenlight- 
regulation to excess. It is possible for the vague feelings against ^<^_d. Public 
vegetarianism, or long hair, or "bloomers," or non-church-going, may push 
to run together into a hostile and imperious public sentiment. It '■^s"'^'^"^" 
is but a step from the image-breaker's hatred of stained glass, the point of 
Scotch Calvinist's contempt for a violin, the rabble's resentment persecution, 
of a silk hat, or the frontiersman's detestation of a "biled" shirt, 
to a persecution that is as senseless as it is abominable. To the 
ignorant, unlikeness is an affront, nonconformity an outrage, and 
innovation a crime. Give full play to this feeling, and you have 
the intolerant multitude, eager to stretch every one on its Procrustean 
bed. It was the majority that stoned Stephen, banished Aristides, 
poisoned Socrates, mobbed Priestley, and beat Garrison. . . . 



230. The improvement of Public Opinion ^ 

Three points have been brought out in the two foregoing selections: The 

first, that Public Opinion is a powerful force, second, that it has its P''°°'*^™ 

' _ _ '^ _ with respect 

merits, and third, its defects. The constructive student should react to PubUc 
to this situation by sanctioning a program which will serve to retain OP"ii°i^- 
and to enlarge the merits of the Public Opinion, remove or mitigate its 
defects, and, in short, direct its power into channels which will be pro- 
ductive and helpful. The improvement of Public Opinion may come . 
about in many ways, but fundamentally, perhaps, it depends upon 
education. The importance of the educative process in this regard 
is developed by Professors Blackmar and Gillin in the following 
passage: 
Inasmuch as social order has been developed by slow degrees, importance 

control by force has, at times, been necessary as a temporarv check ? ^ "c^tion 

•^ -^ "^ - m social 

upon insubordination ; but it is always soon replaced by other agencies, control. 

Gradually the idea has grown that other forms of control are cheaper 



From Frank W. Blackmar and John Lewis Gillin, Outlines of Sociology. The 
Macmillan Company, New York, 1915; pp. 393-397- 



528 



READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



The full 
expression 
of Public 
Opinion 
depends 
upon the 
diffusion 
of general 
intelligence. 



Effect of 
education 
upon the 
improve- 
ment of 
government. 



Self-govern- 
ment calls 
for an 
educated 
people. 



and more easily administered; and gradually other methods have 
become the usual ones. Since, however, the conscious effort of society 
to govern itself demands a recognition of the laws of social develop- 
ment and requires, among the component members of society, some 
abiHty to control themselves in the interests of the group, society 
cannot do better than to adopt the educational method as a means 
of establishing that high degree of intelligence necessary for democratic 
social control. . . . 

If the general intelligence is low, Public Opinion will, of necessity, 
be wrong in its premises; and the type of poHtical and social life 
which develops will then be undemocratic. It is, of course, possible 
for a community to maintain order on a low standard of social re- 
sponsibility; but only that society will be progressive and self-con- 
trolled in which Public Opinion is permeated with social idealism. 
And notwithstanding that, in any community. Public Opinion may 
sometimes be created by a few of the more intelligent, the fact remains 
that unless the majority has sufficient intelligence to understand the 
ideas of the leaders and make them their own, society will be con- 
trolled, not by Pubhc Opinion, but by the opinions of a dominant 
few. For it is only when the members are in intelligent and har- 
monious sympathy with one another that Public Opinion can receive 
f uU expression — a condition involving not only individual capacity, 
but the perfection of social machinery as well. 

As education grows more and more general, the critical faculty of 
individuals, becoming stimulated, gradually raises the governmental 
ideal. But the development is, indeed, gradual; for even when people 
have determined what is right, they sometimes find it very difficult 
so to perfect the machinery of legislation and justice as to carry out 
their ideals. As a matter of fact, there is nothing in human experience 
that requires more foresight, ability, and harmonious social action 
than does the creation of laws for the government of a free people. . . . 

Thus the state that is to be perpetuated through self-government 
must see to it that its citizens are well educated. . . . Beginning in 
the grammar grades and continuing with increased force through the 
high school and the university, special training should be given in all 
the subjects that pertain to social order and social control. . . . 
Everything that leads to an acquaintance with the political and Indus- 



PUBLIC OPINION 529 

trial history of the nation, with its social and economic conditions, 

with its forms of government, its constitutional and common law, 

and, indeed, with its social relations, should be taught in its public 

schools. 

Yet while the educating process should begin with the children Extent of 

and continue with the youth of the country, the work is not finished *^^^ educa- 
tional 
with the training of these. And although discussion of public questions process. 

and some little dissemination of information is secured through the 

press and the platform, these agencies are really inadequate to meet 

the growing need. A realization of this inadequacy has recently led 

to the fruitful suggestion that the present public forum, furnished by 

newspapers, books, periodicals, public lectures and addresses, be 

supplemented by neighborhood gatherings of adults in the community 

building, the schoolhouse, for the discussion of questions of common 

interest. The suggestion has received the hearty indorsement of men 

of every political party and such leading educational and social 

bodies as the National Education Association, the National Federation 

of Woman's Clubs, the National Municipal League, the American 

Federation of Labor, the American Prison Congress, and three of 

the national political parties. And Wisconsin has already placed 

upo<l her statute books a law requiring that, upon the request of a 

certain number of citizens, the educational authorities shall open the 

doors of the schoolhouses for just such purpose. 

In carrying out this project, there are, of course, such practical The 

problems to be met as that of gaining a sufficient number of the people nio^^^i^nt 

of a community to take an interest in the discussion of pubUc questions the scope 

and that of centering the responsibility for requisite leadership. But ^ ^' 

the suggestion is certainly most significant and most worthy of an education 

honest endeavor to make the public school more effective in promoting ^^ ^° ^ed 

the inteUigence and social efficiency of that ninety odd per cent of our 

people who never get beyond the grammar grades of our schools. 

More than this, special technical schools preparatory to civil service 

should be maintained for those who expect to make government their 

vocation; for if a state provides education for its own protection and 

general social well-being, and neglects the training of its officials, it 

is failing to use the best means it has for conscious development and 

social control. 



530 READINGS IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 



Questions on the foregoing Readings 

1. What are some of the factors which influence the nature of our 

personal beliefs and opinions? 

2. How do most men come by their religious beliefs? 

3. How do we come by many of our fundamental political beliefs? 

4. What type of opinions require a personal judgment of facts? 

5. What, according to President Lowell, are the conditions necessary 

for a real Public Opinion? 

6. What is the relation of social contact to Public Opinion? 

7. To what extent does " talk " regulate the affairs of nations and 

of men? 

8. What proportion of talk is probably wasted? 

9. Illustrate the influence of talk upon beliefs current in the com- 

munity. 

10. Explain the statement that everything that is said probably has 

some effect. 

11. What is the relation of leadership to Public Opinion? 

12. What are some of the essential qualities of the leader? 

13. Why must the leader not only be self-reliant,, but also have 

breadth of sympathy? 

14. Explain what is meant by saying that the first requisite of a leader 

is, not to be right, but to lead, to show a way. 

15. In what way is continuity a merit of Public Opinion? 

16. Give the merits of Public Opinion, as summed up by Lord Bryce. 

17. Explain the relation of Public Opinion to voting. 

18. What does Professor Ross mean by saying that one defect of 

Public Opinion is that it is not definite? 

19. Why does the inability of the public to be unanimous constitute 

a defect? Give some examples. 

20. Explain why Public Opinion is influenced by instincts which cannot 

be trusted to guide and control modern society. 

21. Give some examples of how unenlightened Public Opinion may 

push regulation to the point of persecution. 

22. What is the great problem with respect to Public Opinion? 

23. What is the relation between a diffusion of general intelligence 

and the full expression of Public Opinion? 

24. Trace the growing tendency to extend the scope of education. 

25. What is the conclusion of Professors Blackmar and Gillin with 

respect to the value of this tendenc}^? 



INDEX 



Administration (see State Adminis- 
tration). 

Albany plan of union, 32-34. 

Almshouse, an ideal, 329-331. 

America, discovered by Colum- 
bus, 1-3. 

American colonies, combine for de- 
fense, 30 32; and the Albany 
plan of union, 32-34. 

American people, occupations of, 

79-83- 
American Tobacco Company, 

372-374- 

Americanization, 275-277. 

Andrews, John B., on labor ex- 
changes, 228-231. 

Arbitration, failure of voluntary, 
239-242. 

Arizona, education in, 351-352; 
the Recall in, 510-512. 

Articles of Confederation, selec- 
tion from, 34-37; defects of, 
38-39, 39-42- 



Blackmar and Gillin, on Public 
Opinion, 527-529. 

Boehm-Bawerk, E. von, on pro- 
duction, 91-93. 

Bogart, E. L., on natural resources, 

75-77- 

Bolshevism, established in Russia, 
197-198; suffrage under, 198-200; 
dictatorship of the proletariat, 
200-201; propaganda under, 202- 
203; letter on failure of, 203- 
205; abandoned for capitalism, 
205-206 (see Socialism). 

Boyle, J. E., on marketing, 341-343. 

Bradford, William, on the Pilgrims, 
5-8. 

Brasol, Boris L., on socialism, 
210-212. 

Bryce, James, on the political party, 
457-459; on Public Opinion, 

523-525- 
Budget, need of a Federal, 494- 
496; essentials of a good, 496- 



Ballot, non-partisan, 473-475; long, 
479-481; short, 481-484. 

Bank (see Banking). 

Banking, and the commercial bank, 
418-419; before 1913, 419-421; 
and the panic of 1907, 421-423; 
and the Federal Reserve System, 
423-425, 425-427, 427-429 (see 
Federal Reserve System). 

Bill of Rights, Virginia, 22-24. 

Bishop, C. F., on the suffrage, 
443-444. 

Black, F. R., on industrial relations, 
242-244. 



Bullock, C. J., on rent, 123-124. 
Bush, C. H., on contracts, 134-136. 
Business, governmental encourage- 
ment of, 83-85. 

California, and the Japanese prob- 
lem, 273-275. 

Calkins, Raymond, on marriage, 
320-321. 

Campaign contributions (see Polit- 
ical Party). 

Carver, T. N., on distribution since 
the Industrial Revolution, 121- 
123; on the forms of competi- 



531 



532 



INDEX 



tion, 136-138; on industrial re- 
form, 223-224. 

Carlton, F. T., on labor legislation, 
231-232, 264-266. 

Charity (see Dependency). 

Check and balance system, 53-55. 

Child laborers, standards for, 255- 
257- 

City, home life in the, 311-313 

City manager, training the, 500-502. 

Civil Service Act of 1883, 463-465. 

Class struggle, 1 79-181 (see Social- 
ism). 

Clay, Henry, on production, 141- 
142. 

Cleveland, F. A., on the budget, 
496-498. 

Collins, C. W., and negro suffrage, 

450-453. 

Colonies, growth of the English, 
11-13; declare their independ- 
ence, 24-28. (see American 
Colonies). 

Colonial manufacturers, 98-100. 

Colonists, struggles of the, 9-1 1. 

Columbus, discovers America, 1-3. 

Commission government, 498-500. 

Commons, J. R., on the division 
of labor, 102-103. 

Communist Manifesto, 177-179, 
179-181. 

Competition, forms of, 136-138. 

Conference of Governors, on con- 
servation, 405-407, 407-409. 

Connecticut^ settlement of, 20; a 
republic established in, 20-22. 

Conservation, of human life, 253- 
255 (see Natural Resources). 

Consolidated school, in the country, 

345-347. 
Constitution, origin of the Federalj 
42-43; essentials of American 
government under the, 45-59 
individual rights under, 45-46 
states' rights under, 47-48 



powers of the Federal government 
under, 48-51; interpretation of, 
51-53; and the check and balance 
system, 53-55; and the Federal 
judiciary, 55-58. 

Contracts, types of, 134-136. 

Cooley, C. H., on the leader, 521- 
523. 

Cooperation, examples of successful, 
167-169; examples of unsuccess- 
ful, 169-170; social benefits of, 
171-172. 

Corporations, taxation of, 435-436. 

Country (see Rural Life). 

Credit (see Banking). 

Crime, and legal procedure, 281- 
283; and the Public Defender, 
283-285; and the juvenile court, 
285-287; and imprisonment, 287- 
289; and the psychopathic ex- 
pert, 289-291; and reformation, 
291-293. 

Declaration of Independence, 24-28, 
Democratic party on the tariff, 

397-399- 
Democratic program of industrial 

reform, 223-224. 
Dependency, and the neighborhood, 

323-325; diagnosis of, 325-327; 

and the friendly visitor, 327-329; 

ideal almshouse, 329-331; state 

institutions, 331-333; financial 

federation, 333-335. 
Des Moines Housing Commission, 

311-313- 
Detroit Associated Charities, 325- 

327. 

Dictatorship of the proletariat (see 
Bolshevism). 

Direct legislation, constitutional 
provision for, 505-506; in Mis- 
souri, 507-508; in Oregon, 508- 
510; actual use of, 514-515. (see 
Initiative, Referendum). 



INDEX 



533 



Direct Primary (see Primary, 

Elections). 
Distribution, previous to the In- 

dustiial Revolution, 119-121; 

since the Industrial Revolution, 

I 21-130. 
Division of labor, principle of, 93- 

95 ; in colonial manufactures, 98- 

100; example of, 102-103; i"^" 

lation to the market, 105-107. 
Divorce, uniform law on, 315-318. 
Dorr, Thos. W., on suffrage, 

445-446. 
Dwight, Timothy, on the early 

settlers, 9-1 1. 

Economic freedom, kinds of, 138- 
140. 

Education, of the negro, 297-299; 
for home making , 3 1 8-3 2 8 ; stand- 
ardization of schools, 351-352; 
financing the schools, 353-354; 
school attendance, 354-356; vo- 
cational, 357-358; wider use of 
the school plant, 359-360; money 
value of, 361-362. 

Elections, non-partisan, 473-475; 
preferential voting and, 475-477 
(see Primary). 

Elliot, Johnathan, Debates, 42-43. 

Ely, R. T., on socialism, 217-219; 
on social reform, 219-221. 

Employee representation, 249-251. 

Exchange, advantages of, 115-117. 

Family, economic disruption of, 300- 
311; and urban life, 311-313; 
mothers' pensions, 313-315; di- 
vorce law, 315-318; education 
for home making, 318-320; atti- 
tude toward marriage, 320-321. 

Farm (see Rural Life). 

Fay, C. R., on cooperation, 171-172. 

Federal Constitution (see Consti- 
tution). 



Federal government, constitutional 
powers of, 48-51; extent of 
powers, 51-53; check and balance 
system, 53-5S; the judiciary, 55- 
58. 

Federal Reserve System, nature of, 
423-425; centralization of bank- 
ing under, 425-427; elasticity of 
banking under, 427-429; (see 
Banking). 

Federal Trade Commission, 374- 
376. 

Federation, financial, 333-335. 

Forests (see Natural Resources). 

Franklin, Benjamin, on the colonial 
population, 11-13; on colonial 
union, 32-34; on the new Consti- 
tution, 42-43. 

Freedom, kinds of economic, 138- 
140. 

Freund, Ernest, on legislation, 
486-488. 

Friendly visiting, 327-329 (see 
Dependency). 

George, Henry, on poverty, 147- 
148; on the single tax as a remedy 
for poverty, 148-152 {see Single 
Tax). 

Gide, Charles, on price, 111-113; 
on exchange, 115-117; on private 
property, 132-134. 

Godkin, E. L., on talk, 519-520. 

Groves, E. L., on the cityward 
drift, 337-339- 

Hamilton, Alexander, on the Articles 

of Confederation, 39-42. 
Hanna, J. R., on the non-partisan 

ballot, 473-475- 
Harding, President, on the issues 

of the twentieth century, 70-73. 
Hart, A. B., on negro suffrage, 

448-450; on voting, 453-455; on 

the political party, 459-461. 



534 



INDEX 



Hazard, Blanche E., on colonial 

manufactures, g8-ioo. 
Henderson, C. R., on imprisonment, 

287-289; on dependency, 331- 

333- 
Home life, in the city, 311-313. 
Home making, education for, 318- 

320. 
Hull, R. M., on preferential voting, 

475-477- 

Illinois, minority representation in, 
477-479; state administration in, 
490-492, 492-494. 

Immigration, labor supply, 268- 
270; living conditions, 270-272; 
literacy test, 272-273; Japanese, 
273-275; Americanization, 275- 
277; policy, 277-279. 

Imprisonment, substitutes for, 287- 
289. 

Indiana, taxation reform in, 435- 
436; 438-440. 

Industrial combination, 364-366 
(see Trust). 

Industrial reform, not dependent 
upon socialism, 219-221; demo- 
cratic program of, 223-224. 

Industrial relations, legal responsi- 
bility in, 242-244; Kansas Court 
of, 244-246; principles of, 246- 
249; and employee representa- 
tion, 249-251. 

Industrial Workers of the World 
(see /. W. W.). 

Initiative, in Oklahoma, 505-506; 
in Missouri, 507-508; in Oregon, 
508-510; actual use of, 514-515 
(see Referendum, Recall, Popular 
Control). 

Interest, factors influencing, 124- 
126. 

International trade, basis of, 391- 
393 (see Tariff). 

I. W. W., call to organize, 185- 



187; declare war on capitalism, 
187-188; mass action, 188-190; 
sabotage, 190-191; press extracts, 
1 91-193; the social revolution, 
193-195 (see Socialism, Bolshe- 
vism). 

Jackson, Andrew, on the aims of 

government, 62-63. 
Jamestown, conditions at, 3-5. 
Japanese immigration, 273-275. 
Johnson, A. S., on international 

trade, 391-393; on tariff, 393- 

395- 
Johnson, Franklin, on the negro, 

297-299. 
Juvenile court, 285-287. 

Kansas Court of Industrial Rela- 
tions, 244-246. 

Kemmerer, E. W., on the Federal 
Reserve System, 425-427, 427- 
429. 

Labor legislation, purpose of, 231- 

232; constitutionality of , 264-266. 
Labor theory of value (see 

Socialism). 
Land bank system, 339-341. 
Landfield, J., on bolshevism, 203- 

205. 
Lawlessness, Lincoln on, 62-63. 
Leader, influence of the, 521-523. 
Legislation, obstacles to intelligent, 

486-488; aids to, 488-490. V 

Legislative Reference Bureau, in 

Wisconsin, 488-490. 
Lenin, N., on bolshevism, 200-201 

(see Bolshevism). 
LeRossignol, J. E., on the socialist 

theory of value, 208-210. 
Lichtenberger, J. P., on the family, 

309-311. 
Lincoln, Abraham, on lawlessness, 

63-65- 



INDEX 



535 



Literacy test, 272-273. 
Lopoushkin, N., suicide letter of, 

203-205. 
Lowell, A. L., on Public Opinion, 

S17-519. 

M'Culloch vs. Maryland, decision 

in the case of, 51-53. 
McKenzie, R. D., on the urban 

neighborhood, 323-325. 
Madison, James, on the Federal 

Constitution, 53-55. 
Magna Charta, selection from, 

15-16. 
Maine Supreme Court, opinion con- 
cerning private property, 412- 

414. 
Majority representation, 475-477. 
Marbury vs. Madison, decision in 

the case of, 55-58. 
Market, and the division of labor, 

105-107; for provisioning a great 

city, 113-115- 
Marketing the farmer's produce, 

341-343- 
Marriage, attitude of young people 

toward, 320-321 (see Family). 
Marx, Karl, on value, 174-177; on 

the exploitation of the laborer, 

177-179; on class struggle, 179- 

181 (see Socialism). 
Maxey, C. C, on the city manager, 

500-522. 
Mayflower Compact, 16-18. 
Meat packing, division of labor in, 

102-103. 
Minimum wage, 259-262. 
Minority, representation of, 477- 

479- 
Missouri, Initiative and Referendum 

in, 507-508. 
Money, nature and function of, 

109-111. 
Monroe, Paul, on profit sharing, 

165-166. 



Mothers' pensions, 313-315. 

Moton, Robert R., on the negro, 
305-307- 

Municipal utilities, ownership of, 
380-381, 381-383. 

Munro, W. B., on woman suflrage, 
447-448; on commission govern- 
ment, 498-500. 

National Cash Register Company, 
indictment of, 368-370. 

Natural resources, of the nation, 
75-77; necessity of conserving, 
405-407; Conference of Gover- 
nors on, 405-407; 407-409; 
National Conservation Associa- 
tion, 409-410; principles of con- 
servation, 410-412; legal basis 
of conservation, 412-414; needed 
legislation with respect to the 
conservation of. 414-416. 

Natural right, and the suflrage, 
445-446. 

Negro, occupations of the, 295- 
297; education of, 297-299; 
legal protection of, 299-301; mi- 
gration, 301-303; and inter- 
racial cooperation, 303-305; a 
charge to the, 305-307; suffrage, 
448-450, 450-453- 

Neighborhood and the city, 323-325. 

New England Confederation. 30-32. 

New York, law regulating campaign 
contributions in, 465-466. 

Non-partisan ballot, 473-475. 

North Carolina, Recall in, 512-514. 

Occupations of the American people, 

79-83- 
Ohio, long ballot in, 479-481. 
Oklahoma, popular control in, 505- 

506. 
Opinion (see Public Opinion). 
Ordinance for Virginia, 18-20. 
Oregon, legal recognition of the 



536 



INDEX 



political party in, 467-469; popu- 
lar control in, 508-510. 

Panic of 1907, 421-423 (See Bank^ 
ing). 

Party (see Political Party). 

Pensions for mothers, 313-315- 

Pilgrims, resolve to leave Holland, 
5-6; reach America, 7-8; estab- 
lish a pure democracy, 16-18. 

Pioneer, work of the, 9-1 1. 

Political party, organization of, 
457-459; influence upon the 
voter, 459-461; spoils system, 
46 1-463 ; campaign contributions, 
465-467; legal recognition of the, 
467-469. 

Population of the United States, 
growth of, 77 79. 

Popular control, in Oklahoma, 505- 
506; in Missouri, 507-508; in 
Oregon, 508-510; in Arizona, 510- 
512; in North Carolina , 5 1 2-5 1 4 ; 
investigation of the extent of, 514- 
515 (see Initiative, Referendum, 
Recall). 

Poverty, in modern life, 147-148 
(see Dependency). 

Preferential voting, 475-477. 

Price, as a measure of value, iii- 

113- 
Primary, an ideal law governing, 

271-273. (see Elections). 
Private property, evolution of, 132- 

134- 

Production, man's part in, 91-93; 
in anticipation of demand, 141- 
142. 

Profit sharing, extent of in the 
United States, 161-162; ex- 
amples of successful, 163-164; 
examples of unsuccessful, 165- 
166. 

Profits, factors influencing, 128-130. 

Property (see Private Property). 



Psychopathic expert, and crime, 
289-291. 

Public Defender, 283-285. 

Public Opinion, origin of personal 
opinions, 517-519; and talk, 519- 
520; and the leader, 521-523; 
merits of, 523-525; defects of, 
525-527; improvement of, 527- 

529- 
Public utilities, social importance of 
378-379 (see Railroads, Munici- 
pal Uiilitics). 

Railroads, development of, 107-109, 
383-385; government adminis- 
tration of, 385-387; legislation 
affecting, 387-389- 

Recall, in Arizona, 510-512, in 
North Carolina, 512-514 (see 
Initiative, Referendum, Popular 
Control). 

Referendum, in Oklahoma, 505-506; 
in Missouri, 507-508; in Oregon, 
508-510; actual use of, 514-515 
(see Iniliaiive, Recall, Poptdar 
Control). 

Reformation, principles of, 291-293 
(see Crime). 

Reizenstein, M., on early railway 
development, 107-109. 

Rent, factors influencing, 123-124. 

Representation, of the majority, 
475-477; of the minority, 477-479. 

Republican party, on the tariff, 
400-402. 

Rhode Island, demand for suffrage 
in, 445-446. 

Rights, of the individual, 45-46; 
of the states, 47-48. 

Roosevelt, Theodore, on the prob- 
lems of American life, 65-68; on 
conservation, 405-407; on taxa- 
tion, 436-438. 

Ross, E. A., on Public Opinion, 
525-527- 



INDEX 



537 



Rural life, reasons for cityward drift, 
337-339; land bank system, 339- 
341; marketing, 341 343, the 
farm woman, 343-345, consoli- 
dated school, 345-347, com- 
munity spirit, 347-349- 

Sabotage, i 90-191. 

Savages, the productive methods of 

95-97- 

Schaeffle, A., on the defects of 
socialism, 215-217. 

School, consolidation of the rural, 
345-347 (see Education). 

Schurz, Carl, on the spoils system, 
461-463. 

Seager, H. R., on interest, 124-126. 

Seligman, E. R. A., on economic 
freedom, 138-140; on taxation, 
225-226, 431-433- 

Shannonhouse, F. M., on the Recall, 
512-514- 

Sherman Anti-trust Act. 370-372. 

Short Ballot Association, 481-484. 

Single tax, and poverty, 147-148; 
as proposed by Henry George, 
148-150; results claimed for, 
150-152; the case for the, 152- 
155; the case against the, 155- 
158; services rendered by the 
agitation for, 158-159. 

Slater, Samuel, and American in- 
dustrial development, loo-ioi. 

Smith, Adam, on the division of 
labor, 93-95; on the relation of 
the division of labor to the 
market, 105-107; on the nature 
and function of money, 109- 
III ; on the factors influencing 
wages, 126-128; on taxation, 
440-442. 

Smith, Captain John, on conditions 
at Jamestown, 3-5. 

Smith, Reginald H., on the Public 
Defender. 283-285. 



Socialism, labor theory of value, 
174-177; exploitation of the 
laborer, 177-179; class struggle, 
179-181; aims of American, 181- 
183; fallacy of the labor theory, 
208-212; further arguments a- 
gainst, 212-214; defects of pro- 
duction under, 215-217; defects 
of distribution under, 217-219; 
versus social reform, 219-221 
(see Bolshevism, I.W.W.). 

Spoils system, evils of, 461-463 
(see Political Party). 

Sprague, O. M. W., on the panic of 
1907, 421-423; on the Federal 
Reserve System, 423-425. 

Starr, F., on the productive methods 
of savages, 95-97. 

State administration, defects of, 
490-492; reform of, 492-494. 

States' rights under the Constitu- 
tion, 47-48. 

Strikes and lockouts, extent of, 
237-239. 

Suffrage, under bolshevism, 198- 
200; in colonial times, 443-444; 
demand for universal, 445-446; 
woman, 447-448; negro, 448- 
450, 450-453; and the actual use 
of the ballot, 453-455- 

Taft, William H., on criminal pro- 
cedure, 281-283; on a Federal 
budget, 494-496. 

Talk, importance of, 519-520. 

Tariff, basis of international trade, 
39T-393; nature of, 393-395; 
United States Tariff Commission, 
395-397; Democratic party on, 
397-399; Republican party on, 
400-402; and national prosperity, 
402-403. 

Taussig, F. W., on profits, 128-130; 
on the inequality of wealth, 143- ' 
145; on the tariff, 402-403. 



538 



INDEX 



Taxation, defects of American, 431- 
433; breakdown of the general 
property tax, 433-434, of cor- 
porations, 435-436; social signi- 
ficance of 436-438; need of study 
in the problem of, 438-440; prin- 
ciples of, 440-442; and unearned 
wealth, 225-226 (see Single Tax). 

Thompson, Carl D., on municipal 
ownership, 380-381. 

Thrift, practice of, 233-235. 

Transportation Act of 1 9 20, 387- 389 . 

Trust, a typical agreement, 366- 
368, abuse of power by the, 368- 
370; legislation affecting, 370- 
372, 374-376; the American 
Tobacco Company ordered dis- 
solved, 372-374- 

United States, growth of the 
population of, 77-79. 

United States Railroad Adminis- 
tration, 385-387. 

United States Steel Corporation, 
development of, 364-366. 

United States Tariff Commission, 

395-397. 
United States vs. Patterson et al, 
368-370. 

Value, as measured by price, iii- 
113; socialist theory of, 174-177. 

Villard, Oswald G., on the negro, 
303-305. 

Virginia, House of Burgesses in, 
18; representative government 
in, 18-20; asserts the principles of 
just government, 22-24. 



Vocational education, problems of, 
357-358 

Vocational guidance, promise of, 
226-228. 

Voters, how influenced by the 
pohtical party, 459-461; educa- 
tion of in Oregon, 508-510. 

Voting, the question of compulsory, 
453-455; preferential, 475-477- 

Wages, factors influencing, 126-128. 

Warbasse, J. P., on cooperation, 
167-169, 169-170. 

Washington, George, on the period 
following the Revolutionary War, 
38-39; charge to the nation, 
60-62. 

Wealth, of the nation, 87-89; in- 
equality of, 143-145; unearned, 
225-226. 

Wilson, Woodrow, on the dangers 
of the World War period, 68-70. 

Wisconsin Country Life Conference, 
on community spirit, 347-349. 

Wisconsin law regulating campaign 
contributions, 466-467. 

Wisconsin Legislative Reference De- 
partment, 488-490. 

Workmen's Compensation, a typi- 
cal law providing for, 262-264. 

World War period, Wilson on the 
dangers of, 68-70. 

Woman suffrage, 447-448. 

Woodburn, J. A., on an ideal 
primary law, 271-273. 

Young, A. N., on the single tax, 
158-159. 



